# ***The Official Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Thread***



## Karren (Jul 15, 2008)

Ok its only a few weeks before the summer games begin and I thought it would be cool to have a place for anyone interested in them, to go and discuss their favorite olumpic sport...

Here's a couple usefull links:

_Official Olympic Web Site - __The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games_

_Schedule of Events - __Competition Schedule - The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games_

Check your local television provider as to when they will be broadcast in your area.

*SO I OFFICIALLY OPEN THESE GAMES OF THE 2008 OLYMPICS.... THREAD... ON MUT....*































Cue the music.... Dooo Dooo Dee Doo Dooo Doooooo..... Who took the torch icon?? TONY???? 

Please check for the companion poll - "What's your favorite Summer Olympic Sport"


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## WhitneyF (Jul 15, 2008)

GREAT thread! Can't wait for the games to start!


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## Karren (Jul 15, 2008)

Yeah!!! Me neither, Whitney!!! Too bad there's no ice hockey or curling.... sigh!! lol


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## WhitneyF (Jul 15, 2008)

I got really into curling during the last winter Olympics. I had never really paid attention to it before, but I'm telling you I got freaking hypnotized by those little brooms working back and forth. I love it! lol..


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## Karren (Jul 15, 2008)

It's big in Pittsburgh now and really big up north in MN and da UP of Michigan... It's like watching chess.... on ice... without any checking!! lol


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## Dragonfly (Jul 15, 2008)

cough cough curling is HUGE is Canada! I don't curl but a lot of folks up here do.

I personally like the Winter Olympics more than the Summer Olympics, but I can get into any sport.

I was thinking that MUT can have it's own Olympics - best hairstyle, sexiest shoes, etc


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## WhitneyF (Jul 16, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Carolyn* /img/forum/go_quote.gif I personally like the Winter Olympics more than the Summer Olympics, but I can get into any sport. I have to agree and I really think it's because in the winter Olympics I get to see people doing things that are, to me, quite extreme and definitely things that I've never even attempted to do. I swim, have done gymnastics, have boxed, lifted weights..... of course none of these things to the levels that these amazing competitors do it, but like I said, the allure of the winter Olympics is watching something that seems untouchable and super human. At least that's how I see it.


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## Karren (Jul 16, 2008)

I saw this on the even news last night....

In the way only an authoritarian regime can, the Chinese government has pledged to do everything in its power to ensure clean air for the Games.

It has already moved or closed about 200 polluting state-run factories such as the Beijing Coking plant.

Weeks before the Games, it is forcing the temporary shutdown of 19 polluting city refineries, mills and factories.

It will close down big construction sites to reduce dust.

And it will force cars off the roads. A new policy will restrict the driving of private cars to alternate days and reduce by 70 percent the estimated 300,000 government vehicles allowed on Beijing's roads from July 20 to Sept. 20. Public transportation will be operated during the two months on extended hours.

Source - http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news...pollution.html


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## Karren (Jul 16, 2008)

Official Mascots of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games






and they are.... BÃ¨ibei, J+ngjing, Hunhuan, YÃ­ngying, and N+ni which represent Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Air. J+ngjing, Hunhuan, and YÃ­ngying are male while BÃ¨ibei and N+ni are female...

Here's a neat sight showing all the Olympic Mascots - 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games | Photo Galleries, Search Athlete Pictures | NBC Olympics

Source - Fuwa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## Johnnie (Jul 16, 2008)

I'm looking forward to watching the games, as well. However, I don't like what Beijing is doing to the stray animals in order to clean up the place.

Olympics clean-up Chinese style: Inside Beijings shocking death camp for cats | Mail Online


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## Geek (Jul 16, 2008)

I am so happy that I'll be back from my business trip on the day before the Olympics start! yes!


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## WhitneyF (Jul 16, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Karren_Hutton* /img/forum/go_quote.gif I saw this on the even news last night....
In the way only an authoritarian regime can, the Chinese government has pledged to do everything in its power to ensure clean air for the Games.

It has already moved or closed about 200 polluting state-run factories such as the Beijing Coking plant.

Weeks before the Games, it is forcing the temporary shutdown of 19 polluting city refineries, mills and factories.

It will close down big construction sites to reduce dust.

And it will force cars off the roads. A new policy will restrict the driving of private cars to alternate days and reduce by 70 percent the estimated 300,000 government vehicles allowed on Beijing's roads from July 20 to Sept. 20. Public transportation will be operated during the two months on extended hours.

Source - China cracks down on Beijing pollution | Philadelphia Inquirer | 06/21/2008

Oh no! If they shut their factories down, our store shelves will be empty! lol..

Originally Posted by *jmgjmg623* /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm looking forward to watching the games, as well. However, I don't like what Beijing is doing to the stray animals in order to clean up the place. 
Olympics clean-up Chinese style: Inside Beijings shocking death camp for cats | Mail Online

That article made me sick and infuriated. I can't believe how ridiculous their government is.


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## Karren (Jul 17, 2008)

Originally Posted by *WhitneyF* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oh no! If they shut their factories down, our store shelves will be empty! lol.. Didnt think about that.... Wal-mart will go out of business!!! lol


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## Johnnie (Jul 17, 2008)

Quote:
That article made me sick and infuriated. I can't believe how ridiculous their government is. I know, right? I couldn't believe it either. It's just so sad.


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## Karen CD FL (Jul 17, 2008)

The only thing I intend to do about the 2008 Olympics is to boycott it. I also intend to boycott the advertisers that are involved.

The Chinese Government had murdered and imprisoned millions of its citizens. Chinese citizens are continually having their civil rights removed and the rest of the world just sits back and watches.

The Olympic Committee should be ashamed that it has chosen China for the venue this year.

The way the Olympic Committee chooses its venues, I would not be very surprised that the next Summer games will be held in Darfur. What will they do? Fatten up all the starving children to make the place look good?


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## Karren (Jul 17, 2008)

One world record was broken and another tied Friday at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Swimming Team Trials. Aaron Peirsol tied the world record and qualified in the men's 200m back, turning in a time of 1:54.32, and Michael Phelps broke his own world record and added the 200m IM to his Olympic program with a time of 1:54.80. For Phelps, the 200m IM was his fourth win of the week, after taking the 400m IM, the 200m free and the 200m fly. He has qualified for the Olympics in five events, including the 4x200m free relay.

Forty-one year-old Dara Torres (Los Angeles, Calif.) became the oldest U.S. swimmer to ever qualify for an Olympic Games, and the first swimmer to make five Olympics, after winning the 100m freestyle in a time of 53.78. Natalie Coughlin (Vallejo, Calif.) of California Aquatics, snapped up the second spot, finishing .05 seconds behind in 53.83. Coughlin has also qualified in the 100m back, 200m IM and 4x100m free relay.

Source - 41-Year-Old Torres Makes Olympic Team, Two World Records Set at 2008 Olympic Swimming Team Trials


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## Karren (Jul 17, 2008)

This is interesting..... Speedo's suit divides swimming world...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A revolutionary bodysuit has divided the world of swimming into the haves and the have nots just weeks before the Beijing Olympics, testing relationships between federations, athletes and rival suppliers.

Australian and U.S. swimmers and others wearing the Speedo LZR Racer suit have set *38 world records* since its introduction in February. Australian Libby Lenton said it made her feel she was swimming downhill.

As the buzz has grown -- an LZR is even on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in an exhibit on superheroes -- swimmers using other equipment are weighing the merits of breaking existing contracts and switching to Speedo.

Source - Speedo's suit divides swimming world | Reuters


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## Dragonfly (Jul 17, 2008)

Canada's swim team has also been using the Speedo LZR Racer. The swimmers have commented on how much faster they can swim in them.

I bet a lot of pool records will be set at the Olympics - and not just from the US or Australian swimmers either.

I would have been in China except the Olympics decided to cancel the hot tub races...


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## Karren (Jul 17, 2008)

hahahah You mean where you fill the hot tubs with beer and put wheels on them and race them down the street, Carolyn?


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## Dragonfly (Jul 17, 2008)

That would be the summer Olympics.

In the winter, we forgo the wheels and go down the slopes.

Plus it serves the purpose of grooming the downhill courses.

I have to warn you folks - it is darn near impossible to qualify for this sport as most of the contestants drink the beer and wander aimlessly about...


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## Darla (Jul 18, 2008)

wouldn't ya think that at a certain point the suit can't really help you? i mean its all about reducing friction with the water right? and of course you heard about those secret surgeries where the webbing on swimmers hands is marginally increased in size so there is more thrust from each stroke. (!)


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## Dragonfly (Jul 19, 2008)

Uh, friction...secret surgeries...increased in size so there is more thrust from each stroke (!)...just what sport are you refering to Darla?


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## Darla (Jul 19, 2008)

why swimming of course what did you think i was talking about?


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## Dragonfly (Jul 19, 2008)

pole vaulting hahahahaha

OK, back to more serious sports talk - South Africa's 'Blade Runner' misses out on Beijing

South Africa's double amputee track sensation Oscar Pistorius saw his last hope of winning a place to the Olympics dashed on Friday when he missed out on a berth in the 400 metre relay team.

"We did not select him," Athletics South Africa spokesman Molatelo Malehopo said of the outcome of a meeting of the federation's board on Thursday night.

"He is not going at all for the Olympic games ... We have faster guys than him in our Olympic team," Malehopo told AFP.

Pistorius missed out on the right to compete in Beijing in the individual 400 metre event when he came outside the qualifying time at a meeting in Lucerne on Wednesday night, despite recording a personal best of 46.25 seconds.

The 21-year-old later told reporters that he hoped to still sneak onto the plane to China with a spot in the 4x400-metre relay team but ASA's announcement means his Olympic dream will now be on hold for another four years.

Pistorius said on Friday he would not comment until he had been officially informed by ASA of the decision, but his agent, Peet van Zyl, admitted the paralympic world record holder had not held out much hope of inclusion.

"We hadn't been expecting him to make the team because his time wasn't the sixth fastest of the South Africans," said Van Zyl.

"We weren't looking (for ASA to have) a special set of rules for Oscar. He wanted to go to the Olympics because he deserved it on merit."

Pistorius, who had both of his legs amputated as a baby due to a congenital disorder, has been dubbed "Blade Runner" due to the specially-adapted carbon fibre blades with which he has won a host of Paralympic titles.

In May, Pistorius won a court battle to overturn an International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) ban that stopped him competing against able-bodied athletes.

He admitted then he would struggle to make the qualifying time for Beijing as the legal fight had affected his training, saying that the London Olympics in 2012 was a more realistic target.

Pistorius will compete in the Paralympics in Beijing in September, where he is expected to defend his 100m, 200m and 400m titles. He is also the world record holder in these events.

source - SAfrica's "Blade Runner" misses out on Beijing - Yahoo! Philippines News


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## Karren (Jul 19, 2008)

Beijing's Olympic shutdown begins Sunday, a drastic plan to lift the Chinese capital's gray shroud of pollution just three weeks ahead of the games.

Half of Beijing's 3.3 million vehicles will be pulled off the roads and many polluting factories will be shuttered. Chemical plants, power stations and foundries left open have to cut emissions by 30 percent â€” and dust-spewing construction in the capital will be halted.

In a highly stage-managed Olympics aimed at showing off the rising power of the 21st century, no challenge is greater than producing crystalline air for 10,500 of the world's greatest athletes.

"Pea-soup air at the opening ceremony would be their worst nightmare," said Victor Cha, director of Asian Studies at Georgetown University.

Source - STEPHEN WADE, AP Sports Writer - Beijing begins massive Olympic shutdown - Yahoo! News


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## Karren (Jul 19, 2008)

With the final four spots on the United States Olympic womenâ€™s gymnastics team hanging in the balance, an intrasquad meet here Friday at the womenâ€™s national team training center began with tears.

Shayla Worley, a member of last yearâ€™s gold-medal-winning team at the world championships, left the gym sobbing after breaking her right leg during warm-ups. She said she had felt something pop in that leg while on the balance beam. Later, X-rays showed she had fractured her right fibula.

Source - http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/19/sp...ymnastics.html


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## Anthea (Jul 19, 2008)

I was looking at the TV last week and they were reporting on the games and their preparations for it. Pollution took up a part of the report, and they said that just living in Beijing and breathing the air is the equivalent of smoking 70 cigarettes each day. Can you imagine running the marathon exerting yourself breathing really deeply and having to suck in all that? Yuck!


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## Darla (Jul 19, 2008)

that article about the animals was pretty sad, I don't like those mascots. But i am pretty sure the Chinese will put on a good show for the games adding their own cultural character.

I really liked the job the Australians did for the Sydney games. I think that was 2000. and Calgary for the winter in 1988.


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## Dragonfly (Jul 20, 2008)

It is no coincidence that the Beijing Games begins at 8 pm on the 8th day of the 8th month of '08.

The number 8 has special significance to the Chinese, because 8 in Chinese is pronounced "ba", which sounds a lot like "fa", which means prosperity or wealth, as in "", which means to become rich.

In Chinese culture, 8 also denotes the number of immortals and structure of trigrams, both of which are linked to auspicious ideas.

Also, when two digits of the number 8 are placed together - "88" - they resemble the stylized form of two Chinese ""characters, hence representing double happiness, a popular motif and design usually pasted upon the doors of newly married Chinese couples.

The number 8 is highly favored among the Chinese for its connotations of good luck, fortune and longevity.

.................................................. ........................................

Olympic medals are for the first time made of metal and jade. The medals were inlaid with Kunlun jade from China's Qinghai province in a symbol of "respect" and "virtue" in the Chinese tradition.

China's rich culture and history is clearly embodied in the winning designs, which reflect the values of ethics and honor, combined the with Olympic and Paralympic spirit.

Source - 30 reasons to watch the Beijing Games


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## Karren (Jul 23, 2008)

Wow.... There's sure a ton of Olympic stuff out there for sale online....







2008 Beijing Olympics Store: Olympic T-shirts, Hats, Pins &amp; More - Official NBC Universal Store

Do you plan to buy any 2008 Olympic memorabilia??


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## Dragonfly (Jul 24, 2008)

No but I might keep the Olympics guide in the newspaper - it shows what sport will be televised when.


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## Darla (Jul 24, 2008)

Does anyone have any of the olympic pins? I have quite a few from past Olympics mostly winter. My wife made me a shadowbox to display them. But i really like some of the logos and the mascots. Don't care for the Chinese mascots this year.


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## Darla (Jul 24, 2008)

Karen, I'm maybe very idealistic about the Olympics, but it was intended as a place where countries could come together and participate in sport without political issues and disputes preventing them.

Unfortunately throughout the history of the Olympics nationalism and international dispute has crept into the picture.

The US could have easily found justification for not participating in the 1936 Berlin Olympics due to the rise of the Nazi movement and instead Jesse Owens really highlighted that the Nazi ideology was flawed.

The US did boycott the 1980 Olympics and I really think this was the wrong move by Carter. The boycott had little effect on the actions of the Soviets in Afghanistan and it stage for a boycott by the Soviet Bloc countries when the Olympics were held in Los Angeles in 1984.

So i am totally against using the Olympics in any way to make a political statement and so against any kind of boycott either. The IOC member nations voted for the selection many years ago. The Chinese will not do anything because of a boycott and the only losers would be the US athletes that had been training like those who ere getting ready like those in 1980.


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## Dragonfly (Jul 24, 2008)

This is how I feel about boycotting the China Olympics 2008:

Where was everyone when the olympic committee was trying to decide between Toronto, China, London and two others - I apologize for my memory not working.

Where were the boycotters when China was selected?

China's track record for human rights violations was just as poor then as it is now.

The olympics is the premier sporting event where athletes compete. They have trained for years in order to represent their countries.

Why would we take away the athletes' dreams and hard work because we did not get off our butts and boycott the choice of China, when it was initially discussed?

The great thing about democracy is that we - as individuals - can do what we want, including boycott. But that does not give anyone the right to dictate to the rest of us, that we need to boycott.

I mean, isn't that one of the things we are against - individuals telling the masses what we can and can not happen.

If someone is unhappy with the fact that the Olympics are in China - then I say "Go Ahead and Boycott". But don't tell me what to do. I was very vocal when China was awarded the 2008 olympics and nothing came of it.

Now I am going to sit back and enjoy the hard work from all of the athletes all over the world, even the ones from China.


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## Darla (Jul 25, 2008)

thanks Carolyn, agree with the points you've made. None the athletes there including those Chinese athletes had absolutely anything to do with the situation in Tibet.

Now onto the games.


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## Dragonfly (Jul 26, 2008)

Hey everybody - do you want to make a guess or wager about how many medals your country will win. No betting - just for fun.

I think Canada will win up to 20 medals.

Between 3 and 5 will be gold.

At least 5 will be silver.

The rest will be bronze.


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## Darla (Jul 26, 2008)

my predictions is US will get 105 medals

38 gold

42 silver

25 bronze

the swimmers look great, michael phelps (MD boy wonder will have a historic olympics)


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## Dragonfly (Jul 26, 2008)

*IOC's Rogge expects 40 doping busts at Games*

International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge expects up to 40 athletes to be caught doping at the Beijing Olympics, compared to 26 at the 2004 Athens Games.

Rogge based his prediction on the increased testing and the improved quality of urinalysis, according to an interview published in the weekend edition of the De Standaard daily.

At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, there were 12 positive doping results from 2,500 urine tests. Rogge said at Beijing there will be 4,500 tests.

"How many positive cases will there be in Beijing? More than in Athens,'' Rogge said. "Based on the number of doping tests in Beijing, you can expect 30 to 40 positive cases.''

In other comments, Rogge said he believes the Beijing Games have led to more media and personal freedoms in China as well as a tightening of child labour laws, but that there are limits to the Olympic movement's powers of generating change within the country.

"The IOC is not authorized and has no means to interfere in sovereign matters,'' he said. "China's relations with Taiwan, the situation in Tibet, those are matters over which the IOC has no authority and must be addressed by other institutions.''

Rogge denied the Olympics legitimizes the Chinese government, which is widely accused of rights violations, saying the games "hold up a mirror (and) show what's happening'' in the country.

"We bring the media to the games,'' he said. "I firmly believe the games have a positive effect.''

CTV.ca | IOC's Rogge expects 40 doping busts at Games


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## Karren (Jul 27, 2008)

12 days to go till the opening ceramonies!!! Friday the 8th of August.... Hope the air has cleared enough so we can see thme!!!


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## Darla (Jul 28, 2008)

i'm looking forward to it!


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## Karren (Jul 28, 2008)

Paul Hamm is out for Beijing

The reigning Olympic gold medalist announced Monday that he is withdrawing from the U.S. team because his broken right hand is not sufficiently healthy enough for him to compete in Beijing.

"I have put my heart and soul into my comeback and done everything I could to get ready in time to compete in Beijing," Hamm said in a statement released by USA Gymnastics. "After returning home from the preparation camp, I had a few physical setbacks, and it became clear to me that my physical preparations would not be sufficient to properly represent the United States and contribute to the team's efforts to win a medal.

"I recently strained my rotator cuff and have been unable to perform all of my skills. I am very grateful to have been given the opportunity to make a comeback. At this point in time, the success of the team and fairness to the team, and the alternates, is most important. While I am very disappointed, I feel I can wait no longer to make this decision."

He also hurt his rotator cuff in his accelerated recovery effort.

Source - NBCOlympics.com - Paul Hamm out for Beijing

Danish Olympic cyclist tests positive for EPO

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP)â€”Danish mountain bike champion Peter Riis Andersen was barred Monday from the Beijing Olympics for testing positive for EPO.

Riis Andersen admitted during a televised news conference in Copenhagen that he had taken the banned blood booster and said he would quit professional cycling.

â€œI am sorry for what I have done,â€ the 28-year-old said, wiping away tears. â€œUntil Tuesday last week, I had the idea that I had done nothing wrong. I (then) realized how gross a violation it was.â€

Source - http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/bei...v=ap&amp;type=lgns

Chela and Vogt hurt, withdraw from Olympic tennis

LONDON (AP)â€”Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina and Stephanie Vogt of Liechtenstein withdrew from the Olympic tennis tournament on Monday because of injuries.

The 28-year-old Argentineâ€”who missed Wimbledon because of a shoulder problemâ€”was replaced by countryman Agustin Calleri, the International Tennis Federation said.

Vogt was replaced by Thailandâ€™s Tamarine Tanasugarn.

Source - http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/bei...v=ap&amp;type=lgns


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## Dragonfly (Aug 6, 2008)

Canada opens Olympics with a win on 6th August 2008

Although the Olympics start 08 08 08, the women's soccer competition is underway before the opening ceremony.

Canada defeated Argentina 2-1 on Wednesday night in the soccer team's first-ever game at a Summer Olympics.

An announced crowd of 23,201 watched the match, the first event of the 2008 Summer Olympics. The contest was played in the 60,000-seat Tianjin Olympic Centre Stadium in this city of over seven million people located 120 kilometres from Beijing.

In other action, Norway defeated the U.S. 2-0, China topped Sweden 2-1, Germany drew Brazil 0-0, North Korea beat Nigeria 1-0 and Japan and New Zealand drew 2-2.

A win against China on Saturday pretty much assures Canada will move into the second round of the Olympic tournament. The game will be played in an electric atmosphere as a loud Chinese crowd cheers on its team at the Tianjin stadium.

CTV.ca | CTV News, Shows and Sports - Canadian Television


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## Darla (Aug 7, 2008)

thanks Carolyn, i wasn't aware that the play started already. Thats certainly not good for the US women. they have their work cut out for them.


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## Dragonfly (Aug 7, 2008)

2008 Summer Olympics Schedule

Schedule Grid 2008

Sorry, it wouldn't copy the schedule in colour.


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## Darla (Aug 7, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Carolyn* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 2008 Summer Olympics Schedule
Schedule Grid 2008

Sorry, it wouldn't copy the schedule in colour.

thanks very useful


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## Fataliya (Aug 8, 2008)

I love Women's Gymnastics! I watch it every chance I can get. I wish I could see the opening ceremonies, but I will be at work. Hopefully it will be on in the break room.


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## Darla (Aug 8, 2008)

So if you're planning on watching it tonight on TV here is a preview (shouldn't give too much away)

photo below

MCT

Fireworks go off over the National Stadium to the start of the opening ceremony on Friday, August 8, 2008, to kick of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing, China. (George Bridges/MCT)

MCT

Dancers and acrobats perform as preliminary entertainment to the start of the opening ceremony on Friday, August 8, 2008, to kick of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing, China. (David Eulitt/Kansas City Star/MCT)


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## Karren (Aug 8, 2008)

I can't wait to see the opening cerimonies!!! I'll have to record Monk, Psyc, Stargate Atlantas and Dr. Who.... Fridays are our busiest viewing nights.....


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## Dragonfly (Aug 9, 2008)

I don't want to give any of the opening ceremony away Karren, but if you look real hard you'll see Monk wearing a ceremonial Gingas Kong headress!


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## Karren (Aug 9, 2008)

Ok whose grandmother designed Hungary's womens uniforms?? White granny dresses with big red flowers?? And funny hats!! Lol


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## Dragonfly (Aug 9, 2008)

I know, some of the outfits are hot and some, not so much.

I like both Canada's and US' hats - I would purchase them.

Did y'all know that 100,000 condoms are given out at the Beijing games?

What do I want more - a great memory where an Olympic condom was used

or a great memory and keep an Olympic condom as a souvenir?

100,000 Condoms For The 2008 Beijing Olympics | chinaSMACK


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## Karren (Aug 9, 2008)

Hahahahah.... Didn't know that Carolyn!!

Well the opening ceramony was good..... I just love the red dresses that the countries escorts wore!!!!

So what did yo think?


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## Dragonfly (Aug 9, 2008)

Did you notice the chinese girls in the white dresses were not so energetic by the time all the athletes had entered the stadium. I bet their feet were killing 'em!

I thought it was a good opening ceremony but I am pumped to watch the games!

There is a road race - cycling on now, and men's gymnastics.

An award was given out to women's shooting - Czech Rep. won gold.


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## Karren (Aug 9, 2008)

Yeah... How many hours in a rpw can you do the same cheer anyway? Lol. I also noticed that women were pretty much left out of the opening cerimonies period.. All the 2008 groups of dancers and drummers and what ever were all men which for me was no fun to watch!!


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## CellyCell (Aug 9, 2008)

Omg, I love the ceremony - I dunno how they can cut into commercial breaks though





I do not like US's outfit at all... Ralph Lauren failed.


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## CellyCell (Aug 9, 2008)

The condom thing is funny... I always remember how I read they're in high demand during the Olympics.


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## Jinx (Aug 9, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Karren_Hutton* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ok whose grandmother designed Hungary's womens uniforms?? White granny dresses with big red flowers?? And funny hats!! Lol Good grief!!I told my bf those dresses looked like they stood behind a gunshot victim and got splattered!!! They were hideous!!

A lot of those African countries now, those were HOT!! I can't find any pics but there was a country in blue robes and caps and the flag bearer had on sunglasses..

I wanted to jump across the living room and do dirty things to the tv, he was so hot looking, lol!!!!!

Originally Posted by *Karren_Hutton* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hahahahah.... Didn't know that Carolyn!!
Well the opening ceramony was good..... I just love the red dresses that the countries escorts wore!!!!

So what did yo think?

They were gorgeous!!All the traditional costumes the Chinese women wore had my attention- I'm a sucker for traditional dress.

I also LOVED the traditional make up the male performers wore during opening ceremonies. Incredible!!

The US team's gear was stupid. Boring. Blaaaannnd. What's up with the Kangol type hats, lol!! Are they going yachting??? Too "wasp-y"

I am really sick of the commentators saying "Here is so and so country with no hope of winning a medal".

That is such crap and rude. Couple of jerks. 

ETA: That little boy walking with Yao Ming! I am so in love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh yeah- one more thing (lol!!) one of the runners in the 800 was my son's classmate- Haley Nemra- but she's not running for the USA, she's running for the Marshall Islands but hey!! I'm still proud of the girl!!

P.S. The lighting of the torch was AWESOME!!!!

Mmm, sorry- one more... Can someone explain that scroll floor to me?? I know it was a L E D but I don't get how it worked???


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## kcam125 (Aug 9, 2008)

i only caught the last hour of the oopening ceremony but was fortunate to catch the torch lighting! now was that cool or what?! (the guy hanging and air running to the torch) only China!!! did you guys see Yao holding the little boy from the earthquake? aww man it brought a tear to my eye!!


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## magosienne (Aug 9, 2008)

it hasn't started well for France, apart from the feminine handball (those girls ROCK !!). as usual, disappointed with fencing. but i'm still waiting for sword, my favorite


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## Darla (Aug 9, 2008)

Well Beijing is now, but London is supposedly coming up. This is reportedly their logo


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## Dragonfly (Aug 9, 2008)

Strange, I could have sworn that is the symbol for the 2008 Goatse London Olympics!

Love it Darla - good researching!


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## Karren (Aug 10, 2008)

So who won what today?? Haven't been paying much attention.... too much work around the house today... every day... lol


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## Darla (Aug 10, 2008)

I know there has been a lot said about the human rights violations in China and I don't want to dwell on those. But i do have an observation, in the past oppressive regimes have had a way of falling after hosting the Olympics. Almost a decade and a World War after they hosted the Olympics in 1936 the Nazi government in Germany fell. A few years after hosting the 1980 Olympics in Moscow the Soviet government fell. and the same thing happened in Yugoslavia after it held the Winter games in 1984 in Sarajevo.


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## Karren (Aug 10, 2008)

I stayed up till 3 am watching beach volley ball and badminton.... Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz


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## Dragonfly (Aug 10, 2008)

Canada's only boxer, a welter weight, lost his first and only bout to a Kazikstan fighter ranked #2.

Do you folks know that every Kazikstan athlete that brings home a gold medal gets $250,000!!!

I wish the Olympics were in NYE time zone - my sleeping is getting all screwed up!


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## Darla (Aug 11, 2008)

i still remember when you were supposed to be an amateur to compete.  Jim Thorpe (USA1912 track and field) had his medals stripped from him because he played semi-pro baseball. only made something like $2 a game. After a long campaign the medals were finally reinstated after his death.

He was voted the most incredible athlete of the first half of the 20th century.


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## Darla (Aug 11, 2008)

Some amazing swimming tonight. First Maggie Hoff surprises everyone and almost wins just to be nipped in the end by a Brit.

The relay then was spectacular with the anchor swimmer really putting on an amazing performance. Wow that was exciting.

US cruised past China in basketball.


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## Jinx (Aug 11, 2008)

Okay-

The issue with the ages of the Chinese women's gymnasts;

the girl, Deng Linlin, in particular, I noticed that she is missing a lower tooth as if waiting for the tooth fairy.

How old is it that we stop losing teeth?

If her tooth is there in a year, will that prove she was under 16??


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## Karren (Aug 11, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Jinx* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Okay-The issue with the ages of the Chinese women's gymnasts;

the girl, Deng Linlin, in particular, I noticed that she is missing a lower tooth as if waiting for the tooth fairy.

How old is it that we stop losing teeth?

If her tooth is there in a year, will that prove she was under 16??

I remember reading about that a few weeks ago.... Maybe a comrad knocked her tooth out during political awareness class? lol
Did you see the 35 year old gymnist from Germany... A russian but competing for Germany... She did good on the vault..... It's like her 5th olympics...

Mens Beach volleybal... Argentina beat Latvia who had upset the Americans the night before.... When do the women play?


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 11, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Jinx* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Okay-The issue with the ages of the Chinese women's gymnasts;

the girl, Deng Linlin, in particular, I noticed that she is missing a lower tooth as if waiting for the tooth fairy.

How old is it that we stop losing teeth?

If her tooth is there in a year, will that prove she was under 16??

OMG...that girl is so 12. At most. lol. This coming from someone who gets asked if she wants a children's menu at 26 years old. I can tell when someone looks young vs. is young! lol!

And what was up with the judges!?! Shawn Johnson gave an almost _flawless_ performance on balance beam and one of the judges (Argentinian, I believe?) gave her an 8.8 for execution!!! That means they took off 1.2 points, when she should have received a high 9! The same thing happened with Nastia Liukin! They both received a total score of 15.975 when they most definitely deserved to be in the 16's for those performances!

Bela Karolyi even called the judges out in an interview afterwards! He basically said that the new judging system allows the judges to basically do whatever they want while going unnoticed. He said he thinks the judges are expressing anti-American bias. If you look at similar Chinese and US performances last night, the Chinese definitely were given better scores.

I know it's too much to expect judging to actually be fair, but I wish they wouldn't punish athletes simply because of what country they're from!


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 11, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Darla_G* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Some amazing swimming tonight. First Maggie Hoff surprises everyone and almost wins just to be nipped in the end by a Brit.
The relay then was spectacular with the anchor swimmer really putting on an amazing performance. Wow that was exciting.

US cruised past China in basketball.

That relay was amazing!!! OMG. lol.
I would have been happy that they won simply because I want Michael Phelps to get his 8 gold medals...just because it's such a great feat to accomplish! But after the one French swimmer was talking trash about how they were going to "smash" the Americans, that just made me happier that the Americans won. lol. I don't particularly care for arrogant people. lol.


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## Karren (Aug 11, 2008)

I'm still confused with the new scroing system! What was wrong with each judge scoring them and then throwing out the high and the low? And who determines what the dificulty level is? Just seems to overly complicated and too many variables...

Kind of why I like events where you race or score points.. First one there wins... No question as to how good or bad they looked getting accross the finish line first!! Lol


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 11, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Karren_Hutton* /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm still confused with the new scroing system! What was wrong with each judge scoring them and then throwing out the high and the low? And who determines what the dificulty level is? Just seems to overly complicated and too many variables... 
Kind of why I like events where you race or score points.. First one there wins... No question as to how good or bad they looked getting accross the finish line first!! Lol

They created the new scoring system because they felt the old one was corrupt and judges were "cheating". But this new system just makes it EASIER for judges to just do whatever they want! It's absolutely absurd, and I hope they go back to the old system for sure!


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## Karren (Aug 11, 2008)

Or maybe put a line on the mat and the first one that can do so many floor routine moves and get accross the line wins?? Have more than one competitor on the floor at the same time.... Make it more interesting.... Lol. Add some legal checking!! End up looking a lot like big time wrestling... Hahaha.


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## WhitneyF (Aug 11, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Darla_G* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Some amazing swimming tonight. First Maggie Hoff surprises everyone and almost wins just to be nipped in the end by a Brit.
The relay then was spectacular with the anchor swimmer really putting on an amazing performance. Wow that was exciting.

US cruised past China in basketball.

I know, this was so exciting! My cat was on my lap during the men's 4x100 relay and I was hooting and hollering so loud that he bolted out of the room in fear. Last nights swimming was absolutely amazing!


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## xtiffanyx (Aug 11, 2008)

That relay last night was amazing! Jason Lezak did an amazing job at the finish. I'm most looking forward for the men's all around in gymnastics...rooting for Yang Wei




.


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## Karren (Aug 12, 2008)

Whose winning the gold.... In sports that the media here is not covering...

Thailand for Womens 53kg weightlifting

India for Mens 10m air rifle

Spain for Mens Road Race Cycling

Romania for Womens Judo

Finland for Womens Trap Shooting

Slovinia for Mens single canoeing

Azerbaijan for Mens judo

North Korea for womens 63kg weightlifting

Congratulations!!!


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## peachface (Aug 12, 2008)

Maybe it's just me, but I find it a bit ridiculous how many medals you can actually win in sports such as swimming and track &amp; field. I mean, look at swimming... 100m, 200m, each have breaststroke, backstroke, freestyle, butterfly that you can win in. Then there are 50m, 400m, 1500m freestyles. Then there are 200m and 400m individual medleys. And then there is 100 m four-men relay and also 200 m four-men relay. AND there is a 10k marathon. That's 16 gold medals, 16 silver, 16 bronze available in just swimming, for each gender.

I don't know. I guess I just find it not fair because they are talking about getting rid of softball in Olympics and that's only just one gold, one silver, one bronze... maybe they should consider getting rid of 200m swimming category or something... Cuz if 100m is considered short distance and 1500m is considered long, we can just do with one mid-range distance, can't we?


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 12, 2008)

The US men's gymnastics was kind of painful to watch at the end, but I'm glad they at least got the Bronze!


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## Karren (Aug 12, 2008)

I was mainly out in the front yard watching meteors, Shaundra so I got to see just a bit of the men's... I kept noticing that the Chineese were gettin higher marks and had hiogher dificulties.. Though they didn't more dificult than anyone elses... Did see Phelps win gold #3.. How does he do that?

I have been watching Msnbc till like 2am... Love seeing something different and they only show that in non-primtime...


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## Dragonfly (Aug 12, 2008)

Phelps is doing great - I bet he'll get every gold he tries for.

I'm still waiting for Canada to win its first medal. Hopefully we'll get one in the men's 8 rowing. I'm sure we'll get more than one medal but they'll be in sports that don't get a lot of attention.

I agree that the Olympics should keep softball. The Olympics wants more women to compete - why get rid of a women's sport?


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## Karren (Aug 12, 2008)

Canada would probably be doing better if there were more checking involved, Carolyn? Lol.

"And Phelps is about to set another record.... But wait... He was checked out of the lane by the Canadians"!!


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## Karren (Aug 13, 2008)

Is that 2 more golds for Phelps tonight?? wow... The first race he looked really worn out.... I didn't see the second relay..... and they beat the world record by 5 seconds...

The US women gymnastics look like they are faultering.... lots of falling off stuff....


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 13, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Karren_Hutton* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is that 2 more golds for Phelps tonight?? wow... The first race he looked really worn out.... I didn't see the second relay..... and they beat the world record by 5 seconds...
The US women gymnastics look like they are faultering.... lots of falling off stuff....

Oohh...I watched the whole thing! lol!
The first race, Phelps's goggles got filled with water as soon as he jumped in the pool. So that's why he didn't do as well. lol. He was pretty frustrated about it, too. But at least he got gold!

As far as the US Gymnastics...the only one that actually fell was Alicia Sacramone. She really struggled and you could tell it was getting to her! Oh well, the silver is not bad at all!


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## Darla (Aug 13, 2008)

I know what you mean. Don't you just want to give her a hug too?






Meanwhile not wanting to sound like sour grapes because clearly the Chinese team was better yesterday, but whats the deal with the underage athletes?


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## Darla (Aug 13, 2008)

Might as well enjoy it because you are witness a once in a lifetime performance!






Michael Phelps, just 23, is already the record holder with 11 gold medals.


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## Darla (Aug 13, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Carolyn* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Phelps is doing great - I bet he'll get every gold he tries for.
I'm still waiting for Canada to win its first medal. Hopefully we'll get one in the men's 8 rowing. I'm sure we'll get more than one medal but they'll be in sports that don't get a lot of attention.

I agree that the Olympics should keep softball. The Olympics wants more women to compete - why get rid of a women's sport?

I agree I will be rooting for Canada and Poland as well.


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## Dragonfly (Aug 13, 2008)

Apparently, during the Athens Olympics, Canada only won two medals the first week - the other ten or so came in the second week. Looks like it will be a repeat for this Olympics.

I'd love to see Canada win one medal in swimming. Mike Brown came in second in a breast stroke semis race. So keep your fingers crossed! We didn't win a swimming medal in Athens so we are hoping for at least one in Beijing.

I'd love to see a good check in rowing! Those guide wire thingies are easy to cross apparently. But with our luck, Canada would collide with Poland!

Congratulations to the US for trying so hard in the gymnastics. I know the teams are disappointed but I thought they both did great jobs.

Now on to the all-around and individual.

Hey - Canadians are going to compete in these events. Hope we all do well!


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## Darla (Aug 14, 2008)

i just heard the best interview with Michael Phelp's mom. He always credits here whenever he talks about his great success. She stated that when Michael was young he was extremely unfocused and was diagnosed with ADHD. They essentially told her he wouldn't be able to focus and would never amount to anything. Well she channeled all that energy into having him join a swimming program and well the rest is history! I loved hearing something like that!


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## Darla (Aug 14, 2008)

Looks like Mike Brown missed a bronze by 9 hundreds . sorry canada

that water cube looks like a really cool venue.


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## Darla (Aug 14, 2008)

see entire article at IOC refuses to doubt China's kid gymnasts - Selena Roberts - SI.com






China insists that its gold medal winners -- (from left) Cheng Fei, Yang Yilin, Li Shanshan, He Kexin, Jiang Yuyuan and Deng Linlin -- are all 16 or older.

BEIJING -- The Chinese gymnasts could have picked out their leotards from Thumbelina's closet as they performed gymnastics in miniature on Wednesday. Wearing blue eye shadow with their hair pulled back, He Kexin, Jiang Yuyuan and Yang Yilin looked like girls who had just rummaged through their mothers' makeup. This was a ladies' final, though somehow it was hard to see how they qualified as women.

Amid pre-Olympic hand-wringing over why the birthdates of He, Yang and Jiang didn't jibe with other registration materials that showed they might be as young as 14, China swore on its stars' passport stamps that the tots are the legal tumbling age of 16. But while the tiny trio helped their nation whisk the gold medal away from a suddenly clumsy U.S. group in the team competition, it was impossible to deny the visual evidence of something unjust in China.


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## Dollface2 (Aug 14, 2008)

Ooooolala Did anyone watch the men on the high rings! These men have bodies on them that just doesn't quit!!!!


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 14, 2008)

Oh laaaaaaadies!!! Or really anyone interested in really short men:






lol! The one in the front middle is 5'1" for reference.

Source


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 14, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Darla_G* /img/forum/go_quote.gif that water cube looks like a really cool venue. Yeah, when I saw all the different colored lights on the glass, I thought "Wow, that looks soo cool!"


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## Jinx (Aug 14, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Darla_G* /img/forum/go_quote.gif see entire article at IOC refuses to doubt China's kid gymnasts - Selena Roberts - SI.com
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/si/2008/oly...ymnasts.ap.jpg

China insists that its gold medal winners -- (from left) Cheng Fei, Yang Yilin, Li Shanshan, He Kexin, Jiang Yuyuan and Deng Linlin -- are all 16 or older.

BEIJING -- The Chinese gymnasts could have picked out their leotards from Thumbelina's closet as they performed gymnastics in miniature on Wednesday. Wearing blue eye shadow with their hair pulled back, He Kexin, Jiang Yuyuan and Yang Yilin looked like girls who had just rummaged through their mothers' makeup. This was a ladies' final, though somehow it was hard to see how they qualified as women.

Amid pre-Olympic hand-wringing over why the birthdates of He, Yang and Jiang didn't jibe with other registration materials that showed they might be as young as 14, China swore on its stars' passport stamps that the tots are the legal tumbling age of 16. But while the tiny trio helped their nation whisk the gold medal away from a suddenly clumsy U.S. group in the team competition, it was impossible to deny the visual evidence of something unjust in China.

China is doing some major covering up!!!!Preview-

*State-media story fuels questions on gymnastâ€™s age*

By JOHN LEICESTER, Associated Press Writer 6 hours, 37 minutes ago

BEIJING (AP)â€”Just nine months before the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese governmentâ€™s news agency, Xinhua, reported that gymnast He Kexin was 13, which would have made her ineligible to be on the team that won a gold medal this week

State-media story fuels questions on gymnast's age - Olympics - Yahoo! Sports


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 14, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Jinx* /img/forum/go_quote.gif China is doing some major covering up!!!!Preview-

*State-media story fuels questions on gymnastâ€™s age*

By JOHN LEICESTER, Associated Press Writer 6 hours, 37 minutes ago

BEIJING (AP)â€”Just nine months before the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese governmentâ€™s news agency, Xinhua, reported that gymnast He Kexin was 13, which would have made her ineligible to be on the team that won a gold medal this week

State-media story fuels questions on gymnast's age - Olympics - Yahoo! Sports

Dang! If she's 13, how old do you think Deng Linlin is? lol!


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## Kathy (Aug 14, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Darla_G* /img/forum/go_quote.gif see entire article at IOC refuses to doubt China's kid gymnasts - Selena Roberts - SI.com
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/si/2008/oly...ymnasts.ap.jpg

China insists that its gold medal winners -- (from left) Cheng Fei, Yang Yilin, Li Shanshan, He Kexin, Jiang Yuyuan and Deng Linlin -- are all 16 or older.

BEIJING -- The Chinese gymnasts could have picked out their leotards from Thumbelina's closet as they performed gymnastics in miniature on Wednesday. Wearing blue eye shadow with their hair pulled back, He Kexin, Jiang Yuyuan and Yang Yilin looked like girls who had just rummaged through their mothers' makeup. This was a ladies' final, though somehow it was hard to see how they qualified as women.

Amid pre-Olympic hand-wringing over why the birthdates of He, Yang and Jiang didn't jibe with other registration materials that showed they might be as young as 14, China swore on its stars' passport stamps that the tots are the legal tumbling age of 16. But while the tiny trio helped their nation whisk the gold medal away from a suddenly clumsy U.S. group in the team competition, it was impossible to deny the visual evidence of something unjust in China.

Sorry, but there is no friggin' way those girls are 16! A couple of them don't look a day over 12! And it's crap that the Chinese government is being permitted to get away with that! If I were a part of any other gymnastics team, US or otherwise, I'd be raising hell!


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## Karren (Aug 14, 2008)

Originally Posted by *StereoXGirl* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oh laaaaaaadies!!! Or really anyone interested in really short men:
lol! The one in the front middle is 5'1" for reference.

Source

They don't do anything for me personally!! Lol
Womens beach volleyball is on tonight I think!!


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## Dragonfly (Aug 14, 2008)

Sorry folks, but if I didn't know who Shawn Johnson was I would swear she had just graduated from grade 3. Gymnastics is all about young, small, muscular, youthful people.

In my opinion, a fine line between 13 and 18.

Mike Brown came in 4th - so close and yet so far.

I'm really enjoying the beach volleyball. Wonder which country will slay the American giants - they are smokin hot!

Wonder how the horses are handling Hong Kong? Anyone watching those events?


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## peachface (Aug 14, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Kathy* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry, but there is no friggin' way those girls are 16! A couple of them don't look a day over 12! And it's crap that the Chinese government is being permitted to get away with that! If I were a part of any other gymnastics team, US or otherwise, I'd be raising hell! I know a girl who used to be a gymnast and she's Asian. She quit about a year or two ago and she's going to university this fall. But just by looking at her, I bet that most people wouldn't think that she's a day over 14, if even that.


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 14, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Carolyn* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry folks, but if I didn't know who Shawn Johnson was I would swear she had just graduated from grade 3. Gymnastics is all about young, small, muscular, youthful people.In my opinion, a fine line between 13 and 18.

If you compare Shawn Johnson to the Chinese gymnasts, you can tell the difference a lot. Specifically with the shape of their bodies. 
I was a gymnast for 9 years. When I was 11-12, I looked like Deng Linlin as far as body shape. When I was 16, I looked a lot more like Shawn Johnson. From my experience, it appears that bone and muscle mass increases greatly between those ages. I personally went from 62 lbs to 86 lbs. That's over 20 lbs. difference and most of it was bone, but I also gained muscle mass (which is pretty average). You can definitely tell that Shawn Johnson has gone through that change and the youngest of the Chinese gymnasts haven't.


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 14, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Karren_Hutton* /img/forum/go_quote.gif They don't do anything for me personally!! Lol Don't hate, Karren! lol! j/k.





I have a feeling if they were hockey players, you'd feel differently! lol!


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## xtiffanyx (Aug 14, 2008)

So Jonathan Horton is like 7 inches sorter than me



...whatever, I still think he's a sexy beast



.


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 14, 2008)

Originally Posted by *xtiffanyx* /img/forum/go_quote.gif So Jonathan Horton is like 7 inches sorter than me



...whatever, I still think he's a sexy beast



. He's an inch taller than me! W00T! lol.
Seriously, though...they showed a LOT of him last night, and I was beginning to wonder if the cameras were focusing on him so much because he was good at what he does or because he's the most attractive gymnast there. lol!


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## Karren (Aug 14, 2008)

Originally Posted by *StereoXGirl* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Don't hate, Karren! lol! j/k.




I have a feeling if they were hockey players, you'd feel differently! lol!

Female hockey players.... in evening gowns maybe!!!


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 14, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Karren_Hutton* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Female hockey players.... in evening gowns maybe!!!



That would be a sight to see! You should start a league, Karren! I'm in!
ETA...oh, I thought you meant PLAYING in evening gowns. lol.


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## Karren (Aug 14, 2008)

I'm already in a league.... and maybe the 8 women in the league would go for that but the big hairy guys would definately not look good in evening gowns!!! lol


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## xtiffanyx (Aug 14, 2008)

Originally Posted by *StereoXGirl* /img/forum/go_quote.gif He's an inch taller than me! W00T! lol.
Seriously, though...they showed a LOT of him last night, and I was beginning to wonder if the cameras were focusing on him so much because he was good at what he does or because he's the most attractive gymnast there. lol!

I also think that Artemev is a cutie



...we didn't get to see as much of him though. I'm sad that Horton finished 9th since the difference between 2nd and 9th was .4



. I was happy for Yang Wei though.



to him for finally getting that all around title!


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## Jinx (Aug 15, 2008)

There are many many gymnasts who are small and young looking- that is not the issue.

The problem is there is a rule that says the gymnast has to be 16 and we comply even if we have girls who are of Olympic caliber, they have to wait until they are 16 and we have consistant evidence that they are, in fact, 16.

These girls in question have evidence in the way of past news reports from their *own* country that clearly states that these girls are NOT 16 but now, in order to compete and have a solid shot at gold in their country, their do***entation suddenly says they are of the required legal age and they are calling their own newspapers that previously reported the ages in the past, incorrect.

All the reports in the past up this point has consistantly listed their ages as the same and there has been no confusion as the ages back then, but now there is an age requirement, the previous information is somehow "wrong".

No matter what the required age was to be, you can bet these girl's do***entation would say they were that age; if the age was 20, then they would swear the girls were 20.


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## Karren (Aug 15, 2008)

Ok Phelps is just about to race the 200 IM and the female judge standing behind him was eyeing him over and you could almost see what she was thinking!! Hahahaha.


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## Karren (Aug 15, 2008)

And Michael Phelps kicks ass!! Sets a new Word Record!!!


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## Darla (Aug 15, 2008)

wow thats interesting Shaundra so i bet its real interesting for you to watch some of these gymnasts since you are not that far removed from them


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## Darla (Aug 15, 2008)

I'm still pulling for Canada to get its first medal.


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## kcam125 (Aug 15, 2008)

oh man..i'm watching the 100m fly right now..sometimes Phleps makes me melt a little..


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## Kathy (Aug 15, 2008)

Woo hoo!! US gymnasts were awesome! In spite of those judges that were scoring completely out of line!


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 15, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Kathy* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Woo hoo!! US gymnasts were awesome! In spite of those judges that were scoring completely out of line! I know, right! lol!
Yay Nastia and Shawn!


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 15, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Darla_G* /img/forum/go_quote.gif wow thats interesting Shaundra so i bet its real interesting for you to watch some of these gymnasts since you are not that far removed from them Yep! I'm a huge gymnastics fan! lol!
I'm also loving to watch Michael Phelps race too, though! lol!


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## Karren (Aug 15, 2008)

I still can't believe how lopsided some of those chineese scores were.... The one on the beam looked like she was going to fall off half the time and she got a great score...


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## Dragonfly (Aug 15, 2008)

We still don't have a medal yet...sigh...but there are some good competitions this weekend where Canada might pull one off.

In a semi rowing competition, Canad and Poland were neck and neck.

Actually, we are slowly moving up in the standings. Canadian swimmers are getting in the finals where as last year, many didn't get past the heats.


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## Karren (Aug 15, 2008)

Maybe is the water temp was just above freezing, Carolyn... Feel more like home?



.

I always thought the Canadians did great in the summer games?? I remember a lot of them medeling in track and field..

Ohh and what was with that sorry artificial turf in Toronto last night... Trying to trip up my percious Steelers? Lol. Well it worked... SIGH.....


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## Dragonfly (Aug 15, 2008)

I forgot all about Pittsburgh playing Buffalo - in Toronto. The game was held in the Rogers Centre, formally known as the Sky Dome. This is where the Blue Jays play.

The Toronto Argonauts of the CFL - Canadian Football League - play in the Rogers Centre when it's a home game.

There are always rumours about Buffalo joining the CFL, much like Baltimore did for one season. I guarantee the CFL fans would love it!

Last Olympics in Athens, we only won 12-13 medals. None were in swimming. Possibly in track and field but I can't remember any.

I do recall a medal in trampoline, two in canoe, rowing, we got a gold in gymnastics - men's floor, boxing, diving, wrestling, cycling, triathalon - a hodge podge really.

Canada does much better in the Winter Olympics. Plus in 2010 it will be home field advantage. We'll either do amazingly well or implode!

We should start a hockey talk thread - I miss dishing about hockey.

Here's two - what the heck is Sundin doing? And why in the world would Toronto get rid of McCabe?


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## Karren (Aug 15, 2008)

Is that swedish guy still around? Been so long since I heard his name spoken... McWho?

Penguins broke ground for their new $335 million rink that holds... 1,000 more people than the iglo??? Wtf?? All the shovels had hockey stick handles... Probably made from the sticks they broke in the locker room after loosing the cup!! Lol

My last game is Tuesday... We sucked this season... Then 2 week off season.. Take the ice down.. And fall hockey starts again!! Were moving into the new office building in 2 weeks.... right accross the street from the Iceoplex.. Where Sid and company practice!! Guess where I'll be at lunch this fall??












I'll tell Sid you said hi!! Lol

And the artificial turf at the skydome looked like indoor-outdoor carpeting remenents sewn together..

Ohhhh. And Go Phelps... (Don't want repremanded for getting off-topic) .... Wait... Its my thread!!!


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## Dragonfly (Aug 15, 2008)

You don't know who McCabe is? He's Toronto's best defenceman. But he broke his leg in the mid season so he didn't put in a lot of ice time last year.

I don't understand how a free agent can take so long to decide when/if he will play again. I mean, if Sundin decides not to return, he's not giving Toronto much time to get another player that is as valuable.

Is the new arena going to be called the Iceoplex? Will it be ready for the 2009/2010 season?

Do you think that the Pens have a better team this year? It seems that they traded away a lot of good players.

I've seen the Argos play in the Rogers centre - on TV. The playing field looked pretty rough - and you could see all the bases in the brown dirt.

I like Phelps - I hope he gets all his records and gold medals - he's a genius.

But if I can make one comment - it is a bit sad to see some of the swimmers not even smiling when they won a silver or bronze. Ok, it wasn't a gold medal but it was still something to be proud of.


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## Karren (Aug 16, 2008)

Don't know what the new arena wll be called? Probably. Xxxxx arena... X= who ever has the most money!! Lol. Supposed to be ready in 2010...

And the Iceoplex is where the practice.. South of Pittsburgh.. In Southpointe. I don't even know who we still have or who left! Guess I'll find out next month when I'm watching the training camp during lunch!!



)





20 mines till Phelps tries for his 7(h gold!!


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## Karren (Aug 16, 2008)

Unbelievable!!! I thought he lost!! By 1/100 th of a second!!! Amazing!!!!


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 16, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Karren_Hutton* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Unbelievable!!! I thought he lost!! By 1/100 th of a second!!! Amazing!!!! I know, holy crap!!! How'd he do that???


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## Karren (Aug 16, 2008)

Originally Posted by *StereoXGirl* /img/forum/go_quote.gif I know, holy crap!!! How'd he do that??? Looks like the guy on his left started to coast and Michael power stroked right into the wall.... wow


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## Ashley (Aug 16, 2008)

Got this from someone who posted on digg:






Phelps is the one without the suit


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 16, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Ashley* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Got this from someone who posted on digg:http://s163.photobucket.com/albums/t...sh/2lxcu0w.gif

Phelps is the one without the suit

That is soo freakin' close!
He's only got one more to go now!


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## Dragonfly (Aug 16, 2008)

Hey everybody - Canada now has a bronze, a silver and a gold medal!!!

Two are in women's wrestling and the silver in two men rowing.

Congrats to the Jamaican that smashed the world record and Olympic record in the 100 metre race.

The wrestler that dropped his bronze medal has now lost it due to poor sportsmanship

- can't copy the source, my apologies


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 16, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Carolyn* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey everybody - Canada now has a bronze, a silver and a gold medal!!!Two are in women's wrestling and the silver in two men rowing.

Congrats to the Jamaican that smashed the world record and Olympic record in the 100 metre race.

The wrestler that dropped his bronze medal has now lost it due to poor sportsmanship

- can't copy the source, my apologies

Congrats on the gold, silver and bronze for Canada, Carolyn!


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## Karren (Aug 16, 2008)

Yea for Canadia!!





Did he drop it on purpose? Didn't hear about that... Was just watching tennis... Swiss vs Sweden... and soccor... Argentina vs Holland.... While I was working on the french doors of coarse!!


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## Dragonfly (Aug 16, 2008)

Thanks Shaundra - I was starting to get worried about Canada lol

Karren, I was able to copy the source:

Wrestler stripped of bronze after dropping it in protest

Updated Sat. Aug. 16 2008 5:44 AM ET

The Associated Press

BEIJING -- A Swedish wrestler has been disqualified and stripped of his bronze medal for dropping his medal in protest.

The International Olympic Committee says Ara Abrahamian has been kicked out of the Beijing Olympics for violating the spirit of fair play during the medal ceremony.

Abrahamian walked off the medals podium and dropped the medal on the mat after taking third in the Greco-Roman 84-kilogram division Thursday. He became incensed when a disputed penalty call decided his semifinal match against Italian Andrea Minguzzi, who went on to win the gold medal.

The IOC executive board ruled Saturday the wrestler's action amounted to a political demonstration and a mark of disrespect to his fellow athletes.

The IOC says no athlete will receive Abrahamian's medal.

CTV.ca | Wrestler stripped of bronze after dropping it in protest


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## Jinx (Aug 16, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Carolyn* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey everybody - Canada now has a bronze, a silver and a gold medal!!!Two are in women's wrestling and the silver in two men rowing.

Congrats to the Jamaican that smashed the world record and Olympic record in the 100 metre race.

The wrestler that dropped his bronze medal has now lost it due to poor sportsmanship

- can't copy the source, my apologies

He needed to lose it. His behavior was ridicuous after the mat and and the ceremony. He said he didn't care for the bronze when he dropped it, anyway.Like a stomping, crying brat.


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## Darla (Aug 16, 2008)

i did see the double skull win the Canadians had. way to go Canada.

I heard Poland won its first medal of the games too in shot put. please about that too.

and the Swedish wrestler. well he deserved to lose it. I saw a replay of the call and sure it was subjective but at that point its over. Now he has nothing.


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## Darla (Aug 16, 2008)

The water cube is a pretty cool venue for swimming , but have you seen the stadium for track and field, called the Birds Nest.






It is really cool also. Women's marathon coming up tonight! the british favorite had stress fractures 8 weeks ago? we'll see


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## Karren (Aug 16, 2008)

Anyone read that some of the fireworks that were shown on TV for the opening ceramony were computer generated just for the TV audience??? wtf????


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 17, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Karren_Hutton* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Anyone read that some of the fireworks that were shown on TV for the opening ceramony were computer generated just for the TV audience??? wtf???? I wouldn't doubt it. They were probably concerned that the fireworks wouldn't be visible through the smog...


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## Jinx (Aug 17, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Karren_Hutton* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Anyone read that some of the fireworks that were shown on TV for the opening ceramony were computer generated just for the TV audience??? wtf???? Yeah, they said the display was too big to be able to show it in it's entirety in the tv alloted time so they had to record part of it and then show it at the same time with what was scheduled to broadcast.

Originally Posted by *Darla_G* /img/forum/go_quote.gif The water cube is a pretty cool venue for swimming , but have you seen the stadium for track and field, called the Birds Nest. http://rawartint.files.wordpress.com...ebirdsnest.jpg

It is really cool also. Women's marathon coming up tonight! the british favorite had stress fractures 8 weeks ago? we'll see

Yeah, that thing is crazy- in the opening ceremony when the guys were wearing those light up Riddler suits (they reminded me of Jim Carrey as the Riddler in Batman, lol!) they formed the shape of the Bird's Nest.That river they built for the white water canoeing and such is awesome!

Hopefully this link will work since it's a slideshow:

2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games | Photos | NBA Finals Party &amp; Swimming Photos | NBC Olympics


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## Karren (Aug 17, 2008)

awwww Torres misses her gold by 1/100th of a second... same margin that Phelps won yesterday....


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## Darla (Aug 17, 2008)

Torres is so awesome. another person I am just so impressed with. The diving earlier was pretty cool too.


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 17, 2008)

Phelps went 8 for 8!!!! 8 gold medals! YAAAAAAYYYY!!!


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## Karren (Aug 17, 2008)

YEA!!! That was amazing!!!!


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## Darla (Aug 17, 2008)

In Baltimore after the Ravens football game they put his race up on the big screen at M&amp;T Bank Stadium. Phelps grew up in Towson that is just north of Baltimore.


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## Dragonfly (Aug 17, 2008)

Hey everybody - Canada got another medal! A beautiful bronze in the men's 1500 freestyle!!!


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## Karren (Aug 17, 2008)

Yea for Canada!!


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## Karren (Aug 17, 2008)

Ok so the big questions is.......... Does Micheal Phelps shave his entire body every day... epilate or get waxed?





And... Is it just me that finds the fact that the tops that Briazilian women in beach volley ball are wearing with the word BRA accross the front of them.. Is just a bit funny?


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## Dragonfly (Aug 17, 2008)

Ya know it's just like Christmas - you go to sleep wishing for lots of presnts and you wake up to find three more medals! One gold and two bronze in rowing!

Canada rocks, and not just in curling!


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## Geek (Aug 17, 2008)

PHelps rules, hands down. It will be a long time until anyone is close to what he did. USA rules

2008 Olympics: Complete Medal Standings As of 8/17, 11:50 PM ET

COUNTRY GOLD-SILVER-BRONZE - TOTAL

United States 19 21 25 65

China 35 13 13 61

Russia 7 12 12 31

Australia 8 10 11 29

Great Britain 11 6 8 25

France 4 9 12 25

South Korea 8 9 5 22

Germany 9 6 6 21

Japan 8 5 7 20

Italy 6 6 6 18


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## Karren (Aug 17, 2008)

I thought it wasn't whether you won or lost but how you played the game??


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## Karren (Aug 18, 2008)

Ya know what is annoying?? All those people on bicycles following along during the rowing races... They never did that before... Even the TV anouncers had no idea who they were... lol


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## Dragonfly (Aug 18, 2008)

Canada is chugging along - 2 more silver. Grand total of 9 medals!

We are now ranked 17th. Yahoo!

The United States thinks Phelps is well known super star.

But he pales in comparison to China's Liu Xiang - the 110 metre hurdler. He has 1.3 billion people sitting on his shoulders.

Unfortunately, Liu Xiang pulled out of the trials so we will never now if he can repeat his olympic performance again.

Chinese star hurdler Liu Xiang out of the Beijing Olympics


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## xtiffanyx (Aug 18, 2008)

I was so excited for Oksana Chusovitina last night getting the silver on vault in her 5th olympics!

I felt so awful for Diego Hypolito...falling at the very end of a great floor exercise



. The look on his face was heartbreaking.

I'm totally speechless about Phelps...wow.


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## Darla (Aug 18, 2008)

Originally Posted by *xtiffanyx* /img/forum/go_quote.gif I felt so awful for Diego Hypolito...falling at the very end of a great floor exercise



. The look on his face was heartbreaking.

and he was Brazil's big hope


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 19, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Darla_G* /img/forum/go_quote.gif and he was Brazil's big hope I know, seriously! I can't imagine anyone looking more depressed, I really felt awful for him!


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 19, 2008)

Originally Posted by *xtiffanyx* /img/forum/go_quote.gif I was so excited for Oksana Chusovitina last night getting the silver on vault in her 5th olympics! Her story is just so amazing and touching! I'm glad she did well.


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## Karren (Aug 19, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Carolyn* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Canada is chugging along - 2 more silver. Grand total of 9 medals!We are now ranked 17th. Yahoo!

The United States thinks Phelps is well known super star.

But he pales in comparison to China's Liu Xiang - the 110 metre hurdler. He has 1.3 billion people sitting on his shoulders.

Unfortunately, Liu Xiang pulled out of the trials so we will never now if he can repeat his olympic performance again.

Chinese star hurdler Liu Xiang out of the Beijing Olympics

I saw that... he had sever leg cramps... man he looked in pain!! He's like the michael Phelps of the Chineese Track Stars....
Last night I gto Olympiced out!! The wife and I watched a movie... Tonight was my wife's birthday so we didn't watch again... I feel left out now and don't know what's going on!! lol


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## xtiffanyx (Aug 19, 2008)

I'm glued to the tv the whole 2 weeks for both winter and summer olympics...I'm gonna be sad once they're over and I've gotta wait a year and a half for Vancouver.

I didn't know Jordan Jovtchev was still competing...he's 35 now. I guess he lives only a couple hours away from me



.

I'm looking forward to seeing Jonathan Horton the tiny sexy beast again in the high bar final tomorrow I think



.


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 19, 2008)

Aww...poor Nastia! She had to accept silver on uneven bars because of the tie-breaking software. It's too bad they couldn't both get gold!


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## lolaB (Aug 19, 2008)

I feel bad for Nastia.



But at at least she has another chance for gold on the balance beam. These judges need to get it together!


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## crapola (Aug 19, 2008)

argh, what's wrong with two gold medalists? nastia looked pissed. i hope shawn johnson wins gold on the balance beam, she's too cute. what great poise and skills that girl has.


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## CellyCell (Aug 19, 2008)

Sucks for nastia... too bad they have less experienced judges awarding the points. I keep hearing judges not scoring accurately... especially in gymnastic where scores are too high. Hmm. But at least she has a medal - a lot of countries don't even have one in their olympic history.

Anyone watch track... dunno the tall dude's name but he's from jamaica. Mans a beast! His height looks like a big advantage... I enjoyed watching him altough he has no competition really.l

And woot to walsh/may making it to the finals.


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## shannonsilk (Aug 19, 2008)

Did I hear that M Phelps not only one 8 medals but that 7 were world records? that's pretty crazy. I'm not much into the olympics so my favorite part was watching the sand zamboni smoothing things out at the volleyball pit. I didn't even know there were sand zambonis.


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## Karren (Aug 19, 2008)

That tie breaker rule is a bunch of crap for sure!! Happened in the Womens high bars and in the mens rings.. Or was it the vault.. Lol.

Did you see the Russian woman set a new world record in the pole vault? The US came in silver and her coach was spouting some kind of crap at her.. He sounded like a complete idiot!!! Especially in national TV.. Even the anouncers were surprised.. He was talking about a meat grinder??? Hahaha

I used to pole vault in HS.. Always ended up going over backwards.. Didn't win squat!!

I didn't watch much last night because of my wifes birthday and tonight I have ice hockey.. Wednesday were going to Kennywood!!




.


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## lolaB (Aug 19, 2008)

Celly- I think you're talking about Usain Bolt. He most definitely is a beast. So fun to watch!

Karren- I watched that! What an idiot! Instead of being happy for her and congratulating her, he basically blamed her for not being experienced enough to win the gold. I would drop him like a bad habit if he were my coach.


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## b3rly (Aug 19, 2008)

If you haven't been paying attention to this sport, here's what happened.

China's He Kexin and USA's Nastia Liukin scored a very high mark of 16.725 during the Uneven Bars final, making them tied for Gold. Both with the start value of 7.7 and execution scores of 9.025. So how did Nastia end up with the silver? In the Olympics, there can be no tie. There have put this program in the computer that automatically breaks the tie. Basically here's how it works.

The execution marks are the average of the judges' individual scores. In case of a tie, they look at each score the judges has given them and eliminates the highest mark and the lowest mark given. In Nastia's and He's case, when they did that, they still tied. When that happens, the computer takes out the next lowest score, and thats when they broke the tie. He Kexin ended up with two 9.1s and one 9.0 and Nastia got two 9.0s and one 9.1.

I personally think that this system robbed Nastia of a Gold Medal that she deserved. But maybe that's just me. =P


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## Aquilah (Aug 19, 2008)

Wasn't there supposedly an issue over He being only 14 instead of 16 anyway? Sounds like a fair, yet unfair way of scoring in the end. Sucks!


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## Nick007 (Aug 19, 2008)

Not fair, it was a tie.


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## Karren (Aug 19, 2008)

I'd say that the chineese girl was scored higher than she should have... She had errors and didn't stick the landing.. Hell one of the chineese on the vault the other night landed on her knee and she got a bronze!! So there is some bias going on, in my humble opinion.

There was a system in place for ties, that everyone knew about ahead of time and its logical... But the olympics is the only venue where ties aren't allowed.. All other competitions allow for giving out two golds and a bronze...

So that's the problem I have with sport you have to judge!! Need to change it to who ever get done first and runs accross the line wins!! May not be a pretty but it could be fun to watch!! Hahaha. Add come checking and it could overtake ice hockey in Canada!!


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## xtiffanyx (Aug 19, 2008)

I think they should both be able to have gold. They're both amazing bar workers- He Kexin's back to back releases were fab and Nastia is always so elegant and lovely with her toe point and little details like that. I'm not too crazy about their tie breaking system.


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 19, 2008)

It was fair and unfair at the same time.

It was fair because the tie breaking software was used correctly.

It was unfair because Nastia should have been given a higher score than she was by the judges. It was also unfair because He Kexin is in no way actually 16. lol.


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## CellyCell (Aug 19, 2008)

I agree with Karren about the Chinese team given a higher score - even the commentators kept mentioning how He should have been deducted... who was the 2nd chinese girl in handle bars? She really had no mistakes apart from one and did a perfect landing yet got bronze?

And same with British - I personally thought she did well but landed roughly... like He.

So I dunno how He scored higher than those 3?

I don't think it was the machines fault or how the tie breaker came down. It was the judges.


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## magneticheart (Aug 19, 2008)

Imho I think it was fair. That's just the way the olympics works. There has to be 1st, 2nd and 3rd and if there's a tie the computer deals with it which is fair.

The same thing happened for a gymnastics medal. It was between Britain and Croatia for the silver and because they both tied the computer decided Croatia won.

And also no wayyyyy is that girl 16!!!


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## Adrienne (Aug 19, 2008)

I think it is completely unfair with the fact that there is now way that He is 16 which means she shouldn't had been there in the first place. I did feel that the judges were over rating the chinese team but I do think it was fair the way they broke the tie.


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## kbella (Aug 19, 2008)

He kexin looks like she's 12 to me...sooo not fair:/


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## b3rly (Aug 19, 2008)

I also don't think that He looks 16, but then again, some asian girls look younger than they really are. I guess we'll never really know. And I actually agree with you guys. The judges over rates the chinese.


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 19, 2008)

I'm bad, I read spoilers on Yahoo today. lol!

Let's just say I'll definitely be watching both men's and women's gymnastics tonight!


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## x33cupcake (Aug 19, 2008)

that sucks when they tied... i would be pretty mad if that happened to me..


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## Dragonfly (Aug 19, 2008)

Latest update on the Canadian team - we got one bronze and three silver yesterday.

Brings the total to 13. Yee haw!!!

Ya know Karren, I'd like to watch you do the pole vault. That is one of those sports that looks easy but I bet it is very difficult. I saw the American coach and the pole vaulter but I didn't understand the entire story - did she think she should have had another chance or she should have won?


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## Karren (Aug 19, 2008)

Lol.. Well I think it stems from the fact that I'm right handed but shoot left.. So when I went up to the line my habds always rotated the wrong way.. I think I cleared 8 foot.. Once.. I gave up on pole vaulting and went back to mindless running!!

I was queen of the 100 meter mossie!!


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## Darla (Aug 19, 2008)

the only thing... and i mean the only thing that really sucks about the summer games is there is tooo much stuff. So i am staying up way toooo late to catch stuff, walking around like a zombie during the day.

and additionally the coverage is very thin sometimes. 'fer example the Womans Pole Vault!

Photo gallery:







Stuczynskiâ€™s Olympic final

Jennifer Stuczynski of Riga holds up her silver medal at National Stadium in Beijing for her performance in the women's pole vault. She received the medal today and won it Monday.

Jennifer Stuczynski of Riga holds up her silver medal at National Stadium in Beijing for her performance in the women's pole vault. She received the medal today and won it Monday. (GREG PEARSON USA Today) source

(LOVE IT) well the coverage i thought was rather spotty through out the evening. I would have loved to see more. Swimming and Gymnastics have definitely gotten the lions share of coverage. oh and beach volleyball too. ok not complaining there.

back to Woman's Pole Vault. US won Silver ! should be a terrific story, and she only started doing pole vault like 4 years ago. She won out to an amazing Russian who is an established champion. well on NBC they played the exchange between her coach and her. What an A**Hole her coach was. Here she won a silver and he is really putting her down. anyone else see that ? I was thinking to myself time for a new coach.


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 20, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Darla_G* /img/forum/go_quote.gif back to Woman's Pole Vault. US won Silver ! should be a terrific story, and she only started doing pole vault like 4 years ago. She won out to an amazing Russian who is an established champion. well on NBC they played the exchange between her coach and her. What an A**Hole her coach was. Here she won a silver and he is really putting her down. anyone else see that ? I was thinking to myself time for a new coach. I saw that! It sounds like that's just how he is, but you're right! Total jerk. He should have been super happy! She did amazing!


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## iheartjulie (Aug 20, 2008)

So not fair!

Nastia was totally robbed. The Chinese team have been receiving higher scores than they should have through out the whole competition. imo

And the age thing. Again...imo but I think you can tell that some of the girls aren't 16 by the way they dance on the floor exercise, they just lack grace and movement they're so robotic!


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## xtiffanyx (Aug 20, 2008)

Whee for Jonathan Horton and his silver on high bar!











Also happy for Fabien Hambuechen and his bronze



.


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## Darla (Aug 20, 2008)

Spain's synchro swimsuits too "flashy" for Olympics

Swimming's governing body bans suits with waterproof lights

By NBCOlympics.com staff report

Posted Tuesday, August 19, 2008 5:25 PM ET






Synchronized Swimming Tech Duet Prelims

BEIJING -- After finishing second at the last world championships, Spanish synchronized swimmers Andrea Fuentes and Gemma Mengual had put the spotlight on themselves heading into the Olympics.

Apparently a spotlight wasn't enough.

Fuentes and Mengual wanted to wear swimsuits with embedded waterproof lights while competing in Beijing, but the suits were banned by swimming's world governing body, FNIA.

"It got very sophisticated because obviously the battery doesn't last long and then we had to look at circuits and interrupters, so we have been working on it around two months with a crack team," Fuentes said.

"It looks a bit like Christmas lights," she added.

FNIA cited a rule against accessories to justify their decision. The Spanish synchro swimmers tried to compare the lights to the mass of sequins that currently adorn their outfits, but FNIA didn't budge.

Despite having to change outfit plans, the Spanish duo are still favorites to medal in Beijing. They were second in the technical routine and in the duet free routine preliminaries in the first two days of competition.






SO HOW does their makeup stay on in the water?


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## pinksugar (Aug 20, 2008)

haha, do you think they'd be into a rematch?!


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## Darla (Aug 20, 2008)

for a statistically even tie i think 2 medals should be awarded


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## Darla (Aug 20, 2008)

Makeup Tie in


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## Darla (Aug 20, 2008)

Jenn Stuczynski Pole Vault


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## Retro-Violet (Aug 20, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Aquilah* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wasn't there supposedly an issue over He being only 14 instead of 16 anyway? Sounds like a fair, yet unfair way of scoring in the end. Sucks! thats what i was thinking. you'd think theyd give it to the girl who they knew is acutally 16+.


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## Anthea (Aug 20, 2008)

In most contests you either reward a tie or have a play-off, I feel there possibly should have had done that to separate their scores.


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## Geek (Aug 20, 2008)

Not Fair at all! We are pissy about the judging in our house right now


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## Karren (Aug 20, 2008)

I noticed the chineese getting higher than expected marks last night too.... amazing!!


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## Karren (Aug 20, 2008)

Tonight is the finals of BMX racing in prime time US.... It's a new olympic sport this year... Looks really cool.. The track is just amazing.. actually cutting over itself....


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## Darla (Aug 20, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Karren_Hutton* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Tonight is the finals of BMX racing in prime time US.... It's a new olympic sport this year... Looks really cool.. The track is just amazing.. actually cutting over itself.... 
http://z.about.com/d/bicycling/1/G/E...naze_Reade.jpg

i did see some of it last night. every heat had at least one wipe-out!


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## nanzmck (Aug 20, 2008)

We were upset over here too! It was completely unfair to even give them the same score to begin with. Liuken didn't have the mistakes Kexen did, bottom line.


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 20, 2008)

Originally Posted by *xtiffanyx* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Whee for Jonathan Horton and his silver on high bar!










Also happy for Fabien Hambuechen and his bronze



.

OMG! I thought Fabien got bumped out of the medals! That's awesome that he got bronze! He seemed like he was having such a disappointing Olympics, I felt bad for him! You could tell he was so frustrated because he knew he could do so much better than he did. Congrats to him!
And of course to Jonathan Horton! That's awesome that he gets to take home a silver and bronze...people had such low hopes for our men's gymnastics team without the Hamms.


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## Dragonfly (Aug 20, 2008)

I'm shocked that no one has posted that Bolt has won both the 100 metre and the 200 metre races - and set world records at the same time.

For a country of only 3 million people - Jamaica is really kicking but!!!

Did anyone else see the boxing match where one boxer bit the other on the shoulder.

Apparently Holyfielder was in the boxing stadium when the bit occured - but luckily it wasn't his shoulder that took the nip!

The BMX bike races are a sign of the times. I think they are more exciting and draw a lot more viewers than baseball and softball. Now if we could only get rid of tennis - we we have an even better summer Olympics.


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 20, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Carolyn* /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm shocked that no one has posted that Bolt has won both the 100 metre and the 200 metre races - and set world records at the same time. I didn't see that! Maybe NBC was waiting to show it until tonight?
ETA: Yep! It's on the schedule for tonight at Primetime.


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 20, 2008)

*China Still in Denial Over Olympic Gymnastics Age Scandal*

Written by Robert Vance on August 18, 2008 â€“ 9:40 am

â€œWe always knew they were under sixteen years old,â€ a group of Chinese students told me yesterday. â€œWe had no idea that there was an age limit for gymnastics in the Olympics. If there really is, then China did break the rules.â€ We were discussing the real possibility that three members of Chinaâ€™s gold medal winning Olympic gymnastics team did not meet the minimum age requirement of 16 years old to compete. Chinese students and other friends of mine have said that as late as last week, Chinese state run television had admitted that Yang Yilin, He Kexin, and Jian Yuyuan were under sixteen but that â€œthey should be praised for their skills and determination.â€ My Chinese colleagues tell me that there has been no mention of any age minimum in gymnastics on television in China.

While it appears that some Chinese people may have been â€˜in the darkâ€™ about the minimum age rule in Olympic gymnastics, the same cannot be said about Chinaâ€™s womenâ€™s gymnastic team. Yang Yun, who was a double bronze winning Chinese gymnast in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, was originally listed as 16 years of age but later admitted on state television that she was only 14 when she competed. The IOC, which was as spineless eight years ago as it is now, shrugged its shoulders and Yang was permitted to keep her medal. Eight years later in Beijing, it appears that Team China has managed to â€˜pull off the same trickâ€™ once again and this time it carried away gold.

â€œWho cares if there was a rule and the girls broke that rule?â€ a close Chinese friend of mine asked me yesterday. *(continue reading)*


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## xtiffanyx (Aug 20, 2008)

Originally Posted by *StereoXGirl* /img/forum/go_quote.gif I didn't see that! Maybe NBC was waiting to show it until tonight? I also haven't seen that yet.
Does anyone here like rhythmic gymnastics? I don't think the US qualified a rhythmic gymnast, so I wonder how much coverage it will get on NBC. I think it starts tomorrow.


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## Darla (Aug 20, 2008)

source






Olympic gymnastics: Liukin, Johnson face different futures

By Diane Pucin

Los Angeles Times

Article Last Updated: 08/20/2008 02:43:50 PM MDT

BEIJING - This is the difference between being the women's gymnastics all-around gold medalist and the balance beam gold medalist:

All-around winner Nastia Liukin held a small post-Olympics news conference at a palace in a garden. Balance beam winner Shawn Johnson did hers in Interview Room No. 4 at the main press center and shared that room with men's high bar silver medalist Jonathan Horton.




Liukin, 18, of Parker, Texas, leaves these Olympics with five medals - a gold, three silvers and a bronze - and with the feeling she will be back competing at least for the 2009 world championships.

She is going home Thursday, and a welcoming party is being scheduled for her at the Dallas airport. She will be on the Jay Leno show next week and has begun participating in several new ad campaigns. Her image is on ATM Visa machines in the athletes' village, and she is talking about competing in the 2009 world championships and adding to her total of nine world medals.

Johnson, 16, leaves with four medals - a gold and three silvers - and a road map of her future that doesn't necessarily contain competitive gymnastics.

She is planning some shopping, a trip to the Great Wall and a march in the closing ceremony. She will probably take this semester off from high school, the first of her junior year, so she can participate in a planned gymnastics tour. But after that Johnson seems lukewarm about competing.

"It's hard to think about four more years," Johnson said. "After not winning the all-around, it hit me pretty hard, not that I got the silver, but just all my emotions came out. I was training to win gold. I'm just proud of myself that I kept my head up."

And maybe, despite all the discussions about the inclusion of possibly underage Chinese gymnasts, Bruno Grandi, president of the international gymnastics federation (FIG), had a purpose in stressing his desire to see the artistic side of the sport given as much weight as the technical side.

Grandi gave his speech on the day before the women's competition started, and those words sounded a little hollow when he also was adamant that his federation had no willingness to investigate well-sourced allegations that three of the Chinese women gymnasts were younger than the requirement that an Olympic competitor needed to turn 16 sometime during 2008.

But he said he was worried about whether his sport had turned too far in the direction of acrobatics over elegance. "I fear the sport is moving too far away from its good balance," Grandi said.

After Johnson powered through a rookie season in 2007 that included winning every all-around competition she entered and after beating Liukin during each of the four rounds of national and Olympic trials competitions that helped pick the U.S. women's team, Johnson lost the medal she most wanted - Olympic all-around gold - to Liukin.

Liukin is 5 feet 3 and 99 pounds, and finished with a growth spurt that added about four inches in a year. Johnson is 4 feet 9 and 90 pounds, and maybe still growing. Those growth spurts can be hard to deal with. Liukin's father and coach Valeri said when his daughter sprouted two years ago she began hitting the floor with her legs on spin moves around the uneven bars.

Johnson's powerful tumbling was the signature of her silver-medal floor exercise routine and gold-medal balance beam performance. Liukin's lithe daintiness and the dance training she received from her mother, Anna, a former Russian rhythmic gymnast, were the hallmarks of her uneven bars work, her silver-medal performance on the balance beam and her sweeping floor exercise work.

After the team qualifying competition, Johnson's coach, Liang Chow, wondered if Johnson had been underscored on some routines and said the same thing after the team medal competition.

"I'm not sure where all of the deductions came from," Chow said. It wasn't a complaint as much as consternation. It seemed the same routines that won Johnson three gold medals at last year's world championships were receiving scores a little bit lower.

Valeri Liukin said one reason his daughter may stick around at least for another world championship cycle is that the sport's code of points will become more favorable to Nastia's style.






After each Olympics the international federation officials re-evaluate how they want to score routines.

Since Athens, when the so-called "perfect 10" formula was dropped in favor of a system that gives a pair of scores based first on degree of difficulty and then execution, there has been the feeling among some coaches and gymnasts that high-risk tricks would replace the element of elegance.

Valeri Liukin said Wednesday he understands that the new code of points will require fewer athletic tricks and allow more room for connecting moves. Was that a reaction to the tiny tots from China who led their team to the gold medal? Liukin said he didn't know, but whatever the reason, his daughter seems still to be in the medal-winning business.

Johnson just wants to go on tour and have fun.


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## perlanga (Aug 21, 2008)

It seems like every scoring controversy has gone the Chinese way, I mean you can help but think something is wrong at times.


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## Karren (Aug 21, 2008)

Yea Walsh and May!! Win the gold in beach volley ball!! Can you believe the chineese player was pulling that Oh I'm Hurt ploy again!!! hahaha


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 21, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Karren_Hutton* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yea Walsh and May!! Win the gold in beach volley ball!! Can you believe the chineese player was pulling that Oh I'm Hurt ploy again!!! hahaha Yeah, it was funny how the announcers were explaining that she "likes a little drama" in her matches. lol!
Congrats to May and Walsh!


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 21, 2008)

Soo...about the men's 200 meter race...

All the drama with the disqualifications kind of took away a little from the enormity of what Bolt accomplished, which is a real shame.

Spearmon (USA - who would have gotten the bronze) definitely stepped on the line quite a few times and honestly deserved to be disqualified, unfortunately. But I think he really showed poor sportsmanship by protesting it and then getting silver medalist Martina (Netherlands Antilles) disqualified as well. I suppose it's fair, since they both stepped on the line, but the whole thing just left a bad taste in my mouth.


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## Karren (Aug 21, 2008)

I missed the 200 meter race... We were at Kennywood all day... Riding roller coasters... Got a gold medal for fudge eating!!



. Was it sure good!!! Hahaha.


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 21, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Karren_Hutton* /img/forum/go_quote.gif I missed the 200 meter race... We were at Kennywood all day... Riding roller coasters... Got a gold medal for fudge eating!!



. Was it sure good!!! Hahaha. You ate fudge without me???





LOL! j/k. Sounds like you had a good time!


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## Karren (Aug 21, 2008)

I'd email you a piece.... I still have a piece left... But its at home.. Hope my wife doesn't polish it off before I get home!! Maybe I'd better sneak home at noon and double check!! Lol.

I actually did pretty good.. Ate a salade for lunch there.. I think I was the only guy there eating a salad.. So I could make room for the fudge!!











My daughter and I rode all the coaster a couple times... And the log jammer.. And a couple dark rides.. It was nice but packed since it was marching band day and a big parade through the park in the evening..

But we got home in time to see May and Walsh kick butt!! Nothing like watching scantily clad wet women jumping up and down in the sand, hugging!! What a sport!! I love womens beach volley ball!! Wonder why the men don't hug? Probably some rule aginst it? Hahaha


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## Dragonfly (Aug 21, 2008)

The US women's volleyball team was phenomenal! There is talk of retirement - I hope they play at least one more year.

Canada won a gold medal in horse jumping and a silver in the women's platform diving.

All three of these athletes - of course the horse is an athlete - are so deserving!


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## Karren (Aug 21, 2008)

Does the hoese get a medal too, Carolyn? He should if he doesn't. Walsh and May were talking about having babys.. But not quitting... So we'll see how that goes... They sure are fun to watch... They play so well together..


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## CellyCell (Aug 21, 2008)

Originally Posted by *StereoXGirl* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Soo...about the men's 200 meter race...
All the drama with the disqualifications kind of took away a little from the enormity of what Bolt accomplished, which is a real shame.

Spearmon (USA - who would have gotten the bronze) definitely stepped on the line quite a few times and honestly deserved to be disqualified, unfortunately. But I think he really showed poor sportsmanship by protesting it and then getting silver medalist Martina (Netherlands Antilles) disqualified as well. I suppose it's fair, since they both stepped on the line, but the whole thing just left a bad taste in my mouth.





Totally. I love watching Usain's runs... I root for him now. Haha.
I felt bad for Spearmon but he was a punk for that move. I'm sure his pride and being embarrassed after celebrating and then it being revoked added to his behavior. You can see in his face he was mortified/pissed. It was pretty funny though. Haha. So evil...


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## Dragonfly (Aug 21, 2008)

Eric Lamaze's horse gets a giant bale of hay, in the shape of a gold medal.

Trust me, he'd prefer the alfalfa over the medal anyday!

Actually, he had a brilliant red and yellow ribbon attached to his bridal. Every night he goes to sleep he gets to look at his ribbon and remember a job well done.


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## Karren (Aug 21, 2008)

Sound more like "I got to go to China and all they bought me was this stupid Ribbon" hahaha


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## Darla (Aug 21, 2008)

US Women won gold in Soccer final . 1-0 over Brazil partially erasing the embarassing 4-0 loss in the Semis of the last World Cup.

Brazil is an awesome team, Marta is a world class player.


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## Darla (Aug 21, 2008)

source

* Baidu cache offers more evidence of underage Chinese gymnasts*

By Joel Hruska | Published: August 20, 2008 - 01:05PM CT




One of the controversies that's been swirling around the Chinese Olympic Games since they began is the age of several of China's gymnasts. According to Chinese officials (and, of course, official passports and ID cards), both He Kexin and Jiang Yuyuan are 16, and therefore old enough to compete in the Olympic Games. Unfortunately for China, there's a growing body of evidence pointing in the opposite direction, including online evidence a gumshoe hacker discovered lurking in the cache of Baidu, China's equivalent of Google.

*Related Stories*


Chinese search giant Baidu facing another copyright infringement lawsuit 
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If these allegations prove true, it would scarcely be the first time China has lied about the age of an athlete. In 2000â€”three years after the minimum qualifying age for Olympic Gymnastic competition was raised to 16â€”Chinese gymnast Yang Yun won a bronze medal for her performance on the uneven bars. Yang's passport showed her as 16 years old at the time, but the gymnast herself later admitted on Chinese national television that she and her coaches had lied about her age, and that she had been just 14 at the time. There's also evidence that Chinese gymnast Li Ya was just 13 when she competed at the World Championships in Anaheim back in 2003.

A story that ran Beijing Evening News on December 2, 2007, reported that He Kexin was 13, while the _New York Times_ turned up evidence in other Chinese papers that cited her age as 14, with a birth date of January 1, 1994. Currently, He's passport lists her date of birth as January 1, 1992. Similarly, Jiang Yuyuan's own national identification card lists her birth date as October 1, 1993. Now, new information gathered from Baidu's cache further confirms these allegations. Over at Stryde Hax, the anonymous author describes his search for official information on He Kexin's real birth date. Google, rather suspiciously, has been scrubbed cleanâ€”searching the engine's cache reveals references to He Kexin, but He's name and data have been removed. As for Baidu, the main search function returns only government-approved dataâ€”a spreadsheet that purports to show information on Kexin has also been deletedâ€”but checking the engine's cache proves that a copy of the do***ent is still preserved. He Kexin's age, as listed in the preserved copy of an official Chinese do***ent? 14.






Stryde Hax dug up the cached copies of the do***ents

The IOC has refused to investigate this situation, claiming that it's the responsibility of the Federation International Gymnastics (FIG) to verify the ages of competitors. The FIG verifies age by checking an official, government-approved passport. Whatever the passport says is what the FIG goes by, even if the girl in question barely looks 12, much less 16.

Legendary gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi noted that this sort of cheating has been a problem for years and cited the case of a girl the North Korean Gymnastics Federation listed as 15 for three straight years. As Karolyi told the _NYT_, "Oh, come on, she [the North Korean gymnast] was just in diapers and everyone could see that, just like some of the Chinese girls are now." If you look close, you can see they still have their baby teeth. Little tiny teeth!"

When asked if the underage allegations could be proven, Karolyi doubted it. "The paperwork is changed just too good. In a country like that, theyâ€™re experts at it. Nothing new." He, of course, would knowâ€”Karolyi developed the entire Romanian gymnastics machine that produced Nadia Comaneci and her 1976 perfect 10 scores, and coached both Romanian and, after his defection, American teams to championships.

Cheating isn't unique to China, and it's not unique to gymnasticsâ€”as Karolyi said, the problem has been embedded in the system for decades, partly because its easier for younger, smaller girls to handle certain types of physically difficult routines. The IOC's lackadaisical attitude towards the situation, however, is befuddling, especially at a time when drug testing and anti-cheating measures are at an all-time high.

The apparently-incriminating Baidu cache also demonstrates the folly of attempting to rewrite history. While it's possible to alter passports, birth certificates, and ID cards, digital data is much more difficult to zero out.

*Further reading*


Stryde Hax: "Hack the Olympics!"
_New York Times: _"Records say gymnasts may be underage"
David Flumenbaum, Huffington Post: "Scandal of the Ages: Do***ents Reveal Underage Chinese Gymnast" Flumenbaum's article gives multiple, specific examples of how Chinese newspaper articles and official do***ents were altered to include He Kexim's "new" age.
Stryde Hax link found via Slashdot


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 22, 2008)

My mom saw something about this a few minutes ago saying the IOC was going to investigate He Kexin's age?

IOC orders investigation into He Kexin's age - Fourth-Place Medal - Olympics - Yahoo! Sports

I hope they do. She's the one that tied with Nastia on uneven bars (causing Nastia to get silver due to the tie breaking software). It would be awesome if they'd give Nastia the gold!

In the past when China has cheated regarding age and they admitted to it, nothing happened, though. So I doubt anyone will actually be stripped of their medals.


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## Ricci (Aug 22, 2008)

Just how hard is it to find out someones age??


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 22, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Ricci* /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just how hard is it to find out someones age?? In China? lol. Probably pretty hard. I'm sure the Chinese gov't will provide any do***ents asked for saying whatever they need to say.


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## Ricci (Aug 22, 2008)

how about a birth certificate?

Originally Posted by *StereoXGirl* /img/forum/go_quote.gif In China? lol. Probably pretty hard. I'm sure the Chinese gov't will provide any do***ents asked for saying whatever they need to say.


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## StereoXGirl (Aug 22, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Ricci* /img/forum/go_quote.gif how about a birth certificate? I'm sure the Chinese gov't could provide them with appropriately altered birth certificates as well if it came to that. lol.


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## Ricci (Aug 22, 2008)

oh lol thanks for that info I had no idea Originally Posted by *StereoXGirl* /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm sure the Chinese gov't could provide them with appropriately altered birth certificates as well if it came to that. lol.


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## Darla (Aug 22, 2008)

i think the ones that get hurt are the poor athletes. I think forever their reputation is tarnished and they are fine gymnasts.


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## Jinx (Aug 22, 2008)

Oh, those girls are awesome gymnasts, no one is trying to take their skill away.

They cheated in a manner of speaking, by lying along with the Chinese government in order to put them in the Olympics when they were not allowed to be in.

Too bad for those girls; their accomplishment is being overshadowed by this. They have several more years of competition ahead of them but because it was ini China, they were pawns in the desperate need for China to win the gold.

Why can't the US men or women relay teams hang on to those frikking batons!!!!!????????????


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## Karren (Aug 22, 2008)

Well both the US men and women dropped the batton in the 4 by 100 meter relay tonigh knocking them all out of the finals!! The mens beach volleyball did beat Brazil in a great game for the gold!!

Mittsy May had on the cutest chineese hat in the stands!! Lol


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## Dragonfly (Aug 22, 2008)

IOC: No proof of underage gymnasts

BEIJING (TICKER) â€”The International Olympic Committee on Friday claimed that there was still no proof that anyone cheated about the ages of several members of Chinaâ€™s women gymnastic team.

The Chinese gymnastics federation has presented information to the IOC to support its insistence that all the gymnasts were old enough to compete, a claim that arose after the team won the gold medal and as individual event as well.

IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said the International Gymnastics Federation had been asked to investigate â€œwhat have been a number of questions and apparent discrepanciesâ€ and were satisfied with the reply.

â€œWe believe the matter will be put to rest and thereâ€™s no question on the eligibility,â€ she said. â€œThe information we have received seems satisfactory in terms of the correct do***entation, including birth certificates.â€

A gymnast must be 16 in an Olympic year to compete at the Games. But questions about the ages of at least three of the athletes have persisted.

Online records and media reports suggest three Chinese gymnasts - He Kexin, Yang Yilin and Jiang Yuyuan - might be as young as 14.

According to a report by the Times of London, Mike Walker, a computer security expert from the United States, obtained do***ents from a Chinese web site that proved Heâ€™s birth date is January 1, 1994 - making her 14. Her passport printed her birth date as January 1, 1992.

He narrowly edged American Nastia Liukin for the gold on the uneven bars on Monday and Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics, backed the decision to investigate further.

â€œUSA Gymnastics has always believed this issue needed to be addressed by the FIG and IOC,â€ Penny said in a statement. â€œAn investigation would help bring closure to the issue and remove any cloud of speculation from this competition.â€

Source:

IOC: No proof of underage gymnasts - Olympics - Yahoo! Sports


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## Karren (Aug 23, 2008)

Ok anyone see the Bronze medal mens beach volleyball game? Brazil team 2 vs Georgia? Funny too but all the participants were Brazilian?? Apearently Georgia hired a couple Brazilian BVB players to represent their country.. Nick named them Geor and Gia! Lol. Wonder if the Chineese are renting out any of their players for the 2012 London games??

Meanwhile at the Birds Nest.. Tonight the Jamacian womens 4 by 100 meter relay team pull a USA and drop the batton and cross into the other lane messing up the British!! The Russian women go on to win the gold.. Nigeria gets the bronze..


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## Darla (Aug 23, 2008)

Gold for US in Men's Decathlon. I always thought this was an amazing event!

WORLDS GREATEST ATHLETE


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## Dragonfly (Aug 23, 2008)

World's Greatest Athlete - that's up for debate Darla.

Personally, I believe Hickstead is pretty terrific. Hickstead and Eric Lamaze of Canada won the gold medal in the individual jumping.

As well, Eric Lamaze rode Hickstead as part of the team jumping, when the Canadians were awarded the silver medals.

Here's a an example of poor sportsmanship:

*Cuban attacks judge after losing match in taekwondo*

Cuba's Angel Matos deliberately kicked a referee square in the face after he was disqualified in a bronze-medal match, prompting the World Taekwondo Federation to recommend he be banned for life.

CTV.ca | CTV News, Shows and Sports - Canadian Television


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## Karren (Aug 24, 2008)

Kenya wins it's first Olympic old in the marathon, Moroco second with the silver.... and it looks like Ethiopa will win the bronze.... in about a minute... Hot off the press lol

Brazil beat the US for the womens volley ball today... Brazil has a great team!!


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## Dragonfly (Aug 24, 2008)

So who recorded their countries medal total - and how many of each colour?

I recall saying that Canada was going to win up to 20 medals.

3-5 gold, 5+ silver, rest bronze.

Canada won 18 medals - 3 gold, 9 silver, 6 bronze. Not bad guesses huh?

What I'm looking forward to is the Paralympics - Sept 6 to 17

I love Murderball!!! Can't wait for Canada to take on the US - fabulous rivalry!!!

Those boys like it rough!


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## Darla (Aug 24, 2008)

now that you mentioned it Carolyn, i will have to get the do***entary from Netflix. I think i said 105 for US whens their final tally?


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## Dragonfly (Aug 25, 2008)

Canada's chances for a medal vanished 2 days ago as they weren't in any more competions after that.

According to CBCSports.ca/olympics

Overall Medal Standings

G S BTotal

1st China 51 21 28 100

2nd U.S. 36 38 36 110

3rd Russia 23 212872

19th Canada 3 9 618


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## Darla (Aug 25, 2008)

these closing ceremonies are quite good.

I can't believe the number of people they have.

who is the British performer besides Jimmy Page?

they've extinguised the flame but now have a memory tower. spectacular.


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## Karren (Aug 25, 2008)

I'm out west today so the closing cerimonies have just started.... Sad it's over but now I can get some work done around the house... lol


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## Dragonfly (Aug 25, 2008)

Whole Lotta love - love it, love it, love it!

The singer is Leona Lewis - a pop princess from England.

She reminds me of Mariah Carey, but with talent.

I wonder how many of those volunteers keep their costumes? I wouldn't mind one of those necklaces with all the balls and baubles that glow.


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## Darla (Aug 25, 2008)

Originally Posted by *Karren_Hutton* /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm out west today so the closing cerimonies have just started.... Sad it's over but now I can get some work done around the house... lol and get some needed sleep!


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## Karren (Aug 25, 2008)

Yeah... staying up till 3 am to watch ping-pong wounded like a great idea at the time!!! lol


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## Darla (Aug 25, 2008)

well i was staying up to watch the basketball final, but the ping pong (err excusem table tennis) put me right to sleep


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## Karren (Aug 25, 2008)

36 facts about the Olympic medal count

1) China won the most gold medals at the Beijing Games with 51. They become the first country to crack the 50-gold mark since the Soviet Union in 1988. The most golds ever won in a single Olympics is 83 (United States, 1984).

2) It's the first time since 1936 that a country other than the United States or the Soviet Union has led the medal count.

3) China won more golds in Beijing (51) than they did total medals in Atlanta (50).

4) 'Project 119' was a Chinese initiative designed toward winning golds in the medal-rich sports of swimming, track, rowing, kayaking and sailing. Reports are already crediting Project 119 with China's dominance in the gold medal count, but Chinese athletes won just four golds in those sports. Their total was instead augmented by even better performances in Chinese-dominated events like diving, gymnastics and table tennis.

5) The United States won the same amount of golds (36) that they did in Athens, continuing a remarkable consistency that the nation has exhibited over the past half-century. American Olympic gold totals since 1952: 40, 32, 34, 36, 45, 33, 34, 83, 36, 37, 44, 38, 36 and 36. (The outlier of 83 was from the boycotted 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.)

6) The overall medal count was won by the United States for the fourth consecutive Olympics. The U.S. earned 110 medals, compared to China's 100.

7) Per capita, China won one gold medal for every 25 million people in the country. The United States' per capita rate was one gold for every 8.5 million. The tiny island nation of Jamaica, which won a staggering six golds in Beijing, had a per capita rate of one gold for every 450,000 residents. Had China won at that rate, the country would have earned 2,889 golds.

8) Greece won 16 medals as the host country in 2004. Four years later, the founders of the Olympics managed just four -- their lowest total since 1992.

9) African countries won a total of 40 medals, the highest total in history for the continent.

10) Six countries won their first ever Olympic medals: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Mauritius, Sudan, Tajikistan and Togo.

11) Great Britain won 47 medals, the most in their history and a 17-medal increase from Athens. Expect an even higher total in 2012, when the Games will be held in London for the first time in 68 years. The last time Great Britain competed in a Summer Olympics on its home turf, they earned a disappointing three golds.

12) India has 17% of the world's population. They won 0.31% of Olympic medals.

13) China: 19.8% of population, 10.4% of medals.

14) United States: 4.6% of population, 11.5% medals.

15) Jamaica: 0.041% of population, 1.15% medals.

16) Iceland was the least populous country to win an Olympic medal.

17) Pakistan was the most populous country not to win an Olympic medal (164 million residents, sixth-largest nation in the world).

18) Michael Phelps would have finished tied for 9th in the gold medal count, ahead of countries including France, Netherlands, Spain, Canada, Argentina, Switzerland, Brazil and Mexico.

19) The rest of the world won seven golds in men's swimming events. Phelps, of course, won eight.

20) The United States won the most golds (7) and most total medals in the track competition (23), despite having what was widely considered a disappointing meet

21) More proof that boxing is dead in the United States: the country earned just one medal (a bronze) in the 12 boxing events. Even after three straight disappointing boxing performances at the Summer Games, the U.S. has still won the most Olympic boxing medals (109) in history.

22) China won 8 out of 12 possible medals in table tennis and 7 of 8 possible golds in diving.

23) Great Britain won 7 of 10 golds in track cycling and won 12 medals overall. The rest of the world earned 18 medals in the sport.

24) National gold-medal sweeps: Basketball (USA), Beach Volleyball (USA), Rhythmic Gymnastics (RUS), Synchronized Swimming (RUS), Table Tennis (CHN) and Trampoline (CHN).

25) Sweden had the best medal tally (4 silver, 1 bronze) without winning a gold.

26) Armenia won 6 bronze medals, but no gold or silver ones.

27) Speaking of former Soviet states, members of the former Soviet Union won a total of 173 medals in Beijing.

28) In 1992, Cuba finished 5th in the gold medal count. In 2008, the nation finished 28th.

29) From 1980 to 2008, Jamaica won three Olympic golds. In a span of six days in Beijing, Usain Bolt won three.

30) Sweden was a fixture in the top-three of the overall medal count for the early part of the 20th century. In Beijing, the Scandinavian country finished 38th and was shut-out in golds for just the second time in history.

31) Panama and Mongolia won the first gold medals in their respective histories.

32) China won 27 gold medals in judged sports.

33) The United States won 4 gold medals in judged sports.

34) China's "real" medal tally was 24/17/14/55.

35) The "real" medal tally for the United States: 32/31/27/80.

36) In all, 958 medals were handed out to athletes from 87 countries, the most medals and medal receipients in Olympic history.

Source - 36 facts about the Olympic medal count - Fourth-Place Medal - Olympics - Yahoo! Sports


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## Darla (Aug 25, 2008)

lots of interesting info there Karren!


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## emilyjj11 (Aug 25, 2008)

What is the story with the Chinese girl? How old do they think she really is?


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